Her Guard Dog: Warning, thanks to Volume 4, this is all non-canon
by Butterfly Crown
Summary: If Cinder does not return after the events of "The End of the Beginning", then what happens to Emerald and Mercury? Their queen and mentor gave specific instructions to Mercury when he became a part of her retinue. 1) He is to safegaurd her intrests. 2) Emerald is in charge when she is away. 3) If he harms or allows her student to be harmed in any way at all, it will be his head.
1. Prolouge

**Hello! This going to be my first rated M story because with characters as broken as Emerald and Mercury I do not want to take any chances.**

 **Eventually this story will also have sex in it. Yes, sex. As in sin, smut, banging of unmentionables, whatever you refer to it as. It will be vanilla, and it will be a long ways off. To any people who are here for only that I will appropriatly tag it so that you can find it. This is not porn without plot, noncon/dubcon, or a kink fest. If you are looking for that I advise you to look elsewhere.**

 **This is also based off the assumption that Cinder is unable to return to/find Emerald and Mercury after the events of The End of the Beginning. If in volume four this is proven incorrect then this story will also be marked as canon divergent.**

 **Prolouge : Three Days Grac** **e**

* * *

Emerald is still in the bathroom. She went in last night and didn't come out.

Cinder still hasn't come back to the warehouse. Three days ago all of us attacked Vale, using the White Fang and Torchwick as to cause more chaos. We were on the rooftop, capturing the chaos on a scroll for all the world to see.

She turned to us.

"I see Ozpin. He's leading Pyrrah Nikos to where the Fall Maiden is." She gave us both a sharp look. "Under no circumstances should you deviate from the plan. The tower must fall. I'll be back tomorrow. Make scrambled eggs."

Her look softened into a smile. She ruffled Emerald's hair and didn't give me a second look. A Grim appeared and she left us on the rooftop. Our orders were given. Stop filming. Lose the Scroll in the city. Destroy the tower so completely it couldn't be rebuilt. Go back to the warehouse. Sleep.

Those orders had been finished with ease that night. A different warehouse had the charges. No one suspected a thing. We woke up not knowing when she would come back. Emerald scrambled the eggs. After we had breakfast she put it in the mircowave to keep it warm.

Lunch. Dinner. I put the eggs in the fridge. Two more days with things getting worse. No more grunts, snuffles or screams from the outside. Emerald got worse with the silence. On the third night she slept by the door. I brought pillows. When I woke up she wasn't there.

I knocked on the door.

"Emerald. You still in there? We need to get food. This place was only stocked for a few days." There that didn't make it seem like we'd given up waiting for Cinder.

Emerald didn't respond.

* * *

It's been three days. Why haven't you come back? I made scrambled eggs, just like you wanted, Cinder. After we blew up the tower, Mercury and I came back, ate ramen, and got some sleep.

Did I do something wrong?

The eggs were made exactly how you liked them, lots of salt and pepper with the baccon fried crispy in another pan. We set the table with me and you at oppisite ends and Mercury in the middle. I guess that didn't matter so much with how small it is. You could see the window from any side though.

Mercury and I ate breakfast without you. I'm sorry. We waited over a hour. I put your plate, loaded with extra baccon, in the microwave, so it wouldn't be so cold when you got back.

Then came lunch; we had grilled meat and cheese. Another hot meal for you. Since you weren't here I didn't want to get it wrong. Dinner was bad. Mercury and I fought over who screwed up the rice and if your plate should be put in the fridge. We went to bed angry with each other.

I made more eggs in the morning, exactly how you liked them. With extra crispy baccon on the side. Mercury decided to ruin his by putting them in a tortilla and hot sauce. His was the leftovers from yesterday, so it didn't matter. I ate mine the way it was, no bacon.

The tortillas gave me an idea though, so we had tortilla soup for lunch, extra spicy. When I was in my room afterwards Mercury surprised me with pasta for dinner. I didn't know he could cook. Then again, I'm not one to talk. I didn't know salt from sugar until you found me.

I couldn't make you eggs after that. We didn't have any left. Breakfast was just cheese toast. Lunch was cold sandwiches. Dinner was ramen with anything we could throw in. There was just a bad feeling in the air, so I grabbed my blankets and waited at the door. Mercury brought pillows, and we ended up sleeping there, close enough to touch. Like we were sharing a tent.

That night the electricty failed. I woke up to darkness. No stars, no moon, just black. Like being inside a Grim. Mercury had his arms around me. It was suffocating, not like camping.

I hid in the bathroom.

* * *

I broke the door handle and pushed it open. The place was a mess. The curtains were on the floor. The sink drawers were upside down, and all of the stuff had been dumped out. Emerald wasn't in the tub or on the toilet.

I kicked the things out of my way to get myself to the cabinets. I opened them carefully. A stiffled sob came out with Cinder's razor. I squated down and saw Emerald contorted in there like a cat. She hadn't shed a tear yet.

She crawled out, shaking. I helped her stand up. Then I hugged her. She flinched a bit, but then calmed down. No tears.

"We need to leave. The huntsmen will find this place soon enough. They won't find us. Take everything you can. A blanket, food, lien, clothes, ammunition." She began a list, immitating Cinder.

"Ok." Her eyes were still a little glassy. Just follow along with orders.

"Cinder is going to find us. She did it once, and she can do it again." Emerald stopped hugging and shook me slightly.

"Right." I responded naturally. Of course this was natural. The woman who had kept us from dying in our youth and had given us a purpose was gone. Her original orders to me still stood.

Emerald snapped out of it at that point. Her eyes were clear again and her breathing was steady.

We found all our things and decided to burn what we couldn't fit in our one bag each policy. It was out of the warehouse and into the alley. We took a hoodie each. Close by was a landing bay for Bullheads.

It was time to ditch this town.

* * *

They had given Cinderella three days grace.

Then the mice disappeared without a trace.


	2. Chapter 1

**Hello again! Thank you for reading this and a huge thank you to all the people who f** **avourited,** **followed and even reviewed this story. Yes cinderhasfallen, I'm talking about you for that last part. I'm pleasantly surprised that so many people read this. I didn't think this pairing was popular since I don't see much of it in fanfiction land. Regardless, I give you some more of this story.**

 **Ch. 1 : Only a Mouse**

We got to the Bullhead landing bay. There were only two left. Scattered remains of the rest of them littered the stonework. A short, shady man was loading crates into the less beat up one. He moved like a gutter rat, in short bursts of movement followed by a long moment of listening.

"Are you taking passengers?"

"Shit. You scared me. I thought everyone in this area had been evacuated." His eyes darted around.

"We... were waiting... for a friend." Emerald's reluctance to talk about it showed.

The man's expression softened. "I'm sorry about your friend, but I've only got one extra bed."

"We'll pay you. Please we'll even share a bed. Just don't make us stay here." There was her dazed and desperate damsel in distress card. If he took the bait he'd could feel like a hero. Then I'd play the part of her guardian knight. I figured it'd last for a day.

The man considered us for a long moment. We hadn't showered in days. The city that had been unquestioningly safe to the ordinary person just a few days ago was overrun with Grimm. We could be looters. Emerald's got an innocent face, but I'm not about to be confused for a saint.

He took pity on us.

"The name's Ebony Carter. I'm heading to Vaccuo."

He didn't look behind him and Emerald flashed me a triumphant smile. She could play a fool like an upright bass. It was a trick born of dozens of street cons and living successfully on the street. All Master Thieves had it down to an art.

He got in the door of the Bullhead and motioned us inside. We followed. The seats of the Bullhead had been torn out and the back now had a new wall and door. It was filled with crates stacked like Tetris cubes labeled breakable things. No ropes. They'd all break in a second.

He pointed to the front and said, "I sleep in there in my hammock." He pointed to the out of place door in the back and said, "You two sleep in the back. It's a little cramped, but the bed's big. Perfect for two growing teenagers, amirite?"

"Wouldn't you take the bed?" I asked before Emerald could stop me.

"I'm from Vaccuo. I sleep in my hammock just the way I like it. What's your name's anyways?" He was suspicious again. Shit . Emerald quickly covered for me.

"Sorry, Essie Nenae." She lied in an apologetic tone. It's really hard to do.

"Marshal Sev," I said, following her lead. His suspicions cleared. Marshal was only popular around Mistral as a common name.

"Well Essie and Marshal. It's time to put as many miles between us and this town forsaken by Monty. Put your bags in the back, and then come to the control room so I don't get lonely!" he joked as he walked away.

We opened the door. It was a closet. The bed was a mattress on the floor that took up the entire space, the floor lights were dim, and I could barely stand up in it. On the other hand, the bed was already made with sheets, a pillow, and a quilt. I didn't have to worry about banging my head on some obnoxious, harsh, swinging light bulb on the ceiling.

I dumped my duffel on the mattress. The six inches of floor space I'd neglected to notice before were going to eventually going to be mud space. I wasn't going to have my stuff be the floormat.

"What are we when he asks?" I questioned Emerald using the din of takeoff as a cover. It'd be nice to have the story planned out or at least an agreed upon story.

"Teammates from Beacon." She was on the floor trying to stow our bags in a way so the half a foot that wasn't taken up by the bed could be used for standing.

"Pfft." Emerald gave me a dirty look. The take off sounds faded quicker than usual. I'm guessing he was better than an old thief in a fedora or an assassin with a lace umbrella. Neo could drive well when she's in the air though.

Shit. Neo was on Roman's ship when it went down. We got the group Snapchat. Fuck.

"He believed it when I said we were going to pay him. He'll believe that much. Not even a citizen from Vale knows all of the teams from Beacon. Some Vaccuo tourist won't have a clue. You can't pass as being from there, and saying that we're from Atlas is a death sentence," she whispered. She abandoned her task by flopping hers on the bed with mine.

"You said that we were waiting for **a** friend not two."

"Our other 'teammate' was injured and went home already."

We went to the front of the cruiser. None of the crates had moved an inch. The guy was smarter than I gave him credit for.

The cockpit had the tech, a fridge, a hammock, and an army of nicknacks on the dashboard. Trolls, quotes, rubber things, you name it, it was there. We sat down in the copilot's and medic's seats. Trying to avoid the mess.

"How are we going to get to Vaccuo in a Bullhead?"

"Who said that? This Bullhead is only going as far as Fence. After that I'm getting on a cruiser and seeing the little wife." His smile was in his voice.

"What's your wife's name?" Emerald asked before I could say something. Most women I'd met had higher standards.

"Ivory Carter. I know, Ebony, Ivory, and our parents didn't even know each other when picking out baby names. Life's funny that way, huh?" he chuckled and continued, "I work-I mean worked as a Bullhead pilot for a company hired to transport goods during the festival. I told my wife before I left that I'd get her a souvenir from the Vytal Festival." His face fell. This man lost his job and had to go tell his wife after a hellish boat or airship ride back.

"What about you two? Parents, siblings, tell me about yourselves," he said with a false cheeriness.

He was trying to clear the air. The air became more awkward. Emerald went first.

"I don't know my parents or if I had any siblings. I lived on the streets of Vaccuo most of my life and got by the way most people in that life did. When I got into Beacon it was like a dream. Classes, regular meals, decent clothes, people to talk to. All the stuff that I never got before.

If people call me a Huntress then I don't deserve it. I'm just a street kid that learned how to fight. I didn't do enough during the fall."

Ebony turned the Bullhead to autopilot now that we were out of Vale. He turned to a teary eyed Emerald. My glare kept him off her.

"You survived. You can do more after all this. It won't be the same, but you'll kill Grimm. You'll keep people safe. You'll turn into a Huntress. What about you Marshal? Any sob story I should hear?"

I glanced up from Emerald's shoes. I pulled up my pant leg.

"Shit." His eyes took in the engineering.

"Eh, I get that reaction a lot. I grew up on a farm outside of the kingdoms, a little bit away from a town called Myth. There was a problem with the equipment. This was the solution to the end result. A little while after that my dad died in a Grimm attack, drunk off his horse. My mom died when I was seven. One of my teammate's is in the hospital, the other's MIA, and the last one I have is about to cry, because some guy decided to kick where it hurts in the middle of a world wide network shut down. That's my story. Do you mind piloting this thing now?"

He swerved to avoid a tree and boosted the altitude. Emerald and I went back to the closet. We gave each other barely suppressed grins. Shock factor in our little performance made it hilarious. This was going to be a fun ride to Fence. Fool didn't even know we were playing with him.

I downloaded a ton of no-wifi games before the tower fell. I asked if she wanted to play one. She said no thanks but asked if she could watch. I turned off the volume on my scroll and set to it. It was kind of nice being like that. The two of us with our backs to a wall and her head on my shoulder.

Cinder wouldn't like the last part. Heck she wouldn't have liked the sleeping situation as a whole. By now the pilot Ebony would have been killed, she'd have taken the bed, and Emerald and I would take turns flying. We'd get the hammock.

Around lunch time Ebony knocked on our door. Emerald went to open it while I stashed my scroll. Didn't want to waste battery. He handed us two plates of burgers. The air finally cleared up. We talked for a while. He went back to flying.

Dinnertime we spent in the front room. Two days to Fence. He'd watch for the night, saying that he'd slept during autopilot all day. He went out with a militia grade pistol. Emerald and I went to bed.

"Hello farmboy," Emerald whispered to me smirking before we went to sleep.

"Don't even reference that movie. Nice acting back there. When'd you learn how to fake-cry?"

"While back, just watched the bimbo on team RWBY during The Pocketbook for long enough. Not bad yourself. 'The last one I have'? How cliche can you get?"

"He ate it up."

"He's a guy working a day job trying to play the hero. He'd eat anything up."

We went to sleep.

* * *

Mercury had his arms around me again. I couldn't move so I decided to take stock of the situation. The Bullhead wasn't moving and it was too early for any birds to be singing. Mercury's breathing was deep and even, dead asleep. Mercury wasn't groping me anywhere. His body fit me like a cast, encasing me and following my every curve.

I don't get it. Mercury never sleeps with a pillow. He sleeps like a soldier, straight on his back with a pillow for his head, sleeping like the dead. He never wakes up. I've doodled on his face, poked him, even put whip cream on it this one time.

Why's he changing now? I don't want change, I want things to stay as they always were. A little voice in my head said things can't stay the same without Cinder. I beat it back, but acknowledged the truth. It really couldn't.

Most of the rules were Cinder specific and likely to change as she wanted them to. There weren't many ground rules. Just absolute loyalty, secrecy, and obedience.

We need new ground rules. New things to always be agreed upon. There didn't have to be a lot of them, just enough to make a new normal. When he wakes up, we'll make a new normal. At least until Cinder finds us.

* * *

I woke up with my arms around Emerald. Shit. Cinder's gonna kill me when she finds out. I'm not supposed to be this physically close ever. Fuck.

Emerald turned her head half way. My arms were still holding her. Shit. Why hadn't I let go already? Fuck.

"You awake?" she asked.

"Yeah." I just barely managed to sound casual.

"We need to talk about all of... this," Emerald said.

Cinder's going to kill me.

* * *

The mice didn't know what it was like outside a house.

They didn't know what it meant to be only a mouse.

* * *

 **Hi! I hope you're enjoying the story thus far. What did you think of the codenames in this chapter? Sev means black in Aremenian. Emerald is Zammarid in Aribic, but Nenae, or mint, worked better with the name Essie. I'd love to hear your ideas on the subject. They may have to use different codenames latter on. Tell me what you think in the comments bellow!**

 **That's all for now. I'm a slow writer, so expect updates every two weeks on Thursday from now on.**


	3. Chapter 2

**Salutations! I'd like to give a huge shout out to cinderhasfallen, claraowl, and guest:Andrew for the reviews before I continue. I'd also like to thank Allycat826, Darkerpaths, and KrossPhelps for following this story. Everything is appreciated as it helps to motivate me even more. Now onto the story!**

 **Chapter 2: Paths Long and Strange**

Emerald wasn't pressing the matter of my hands being at her waist, so at the very least I can hope it's not the first thing she mentions to Cinder. I finally managed to let go of her. We broke apart as far as we could given the room.

"We need rules. New rules. To hold us through until Cinder finds us."

"What are you suggesting?"

"How about we each name something we want?" Emerald paused to think. "I want three meals a day, and you want to sleep like this at night. So we make it each other's responsibilty. You make sure I get fed, and I let you hold me."

I'm not a pervert. Why isn't she dropping this already? It was an accident. We shared a bed in a closet on a moving ship. Still though, if that's her rule I can't go against it.

"Fine. Now what about our names? Are we going to keep lying about them?" If she wanted to continue the charade it meant that she thought Cinder was coming quickly.

"We'll be Essie Naene and Marshal Sev for Ebony and his wife. After that we'll just need to wait and see. Code word for changing them can be Blue Skies."

"That's not a word; it's a phrase."

"You don't even like reading, and you're correcting me?"

"So admit you're a bookworm?"

"You don't read enough. We're living in a world of filled with ancient stories coming to life, and you want to read a comic about two guys in spandex."

"Yeah, I never really got that part. Normal fabric works great so long as you have Aura."

"You're changing the subject! Ground rules Mercury."

"Well what about what we're going to in the meantime? We've got eating and sleeping arrangements down. We need money though, and the banks aren't working. Are we now swords for hire?" My tone got too angry.

"I'm not going fight for anyone but Cinder." Her body began to curl up of its own accord.

Dammit. She's withdrawn again. Not good. At this rate she's going to shut me out. I'm just a mercenary. I don't know anything but fighting. Cinder only talked to Emerald in detail about things like magic and the plan. I only was told when, where, and how badly to make someone suffer.

I didn't want to freak her out anymore. I waited in silence for a little bit. Her breaths got less shakey. Her arms stopped clutching her legs to her.

"We're waiting until we get to Fence; then we're going to find a job that let's us lay low for a while. Three months at most."

"K." It was all I could say.

The Bullhead wasn't starting when we got out of bed. Ebony kicked, whispered to and cussed out the Bullhead. Eventually he let me take a look while he and Emerald made breakfast. I opened up the engine from the cockpit and climbed inside. Place was dustier than Beacon's library. That alone could have caused a short circut.

I climbed out a bit later after failing to find any kind of cords just for Emerald to hand me a wet rag, a dry rag, and a cleaner. I went back in. This time when I came out I could identify where the major parts were. Ebony was trying to make conversation.

"Fence is a bit weird, but you get used to it. It's off a cliffy coast, trees on the edges and has a good harbor. My sister-in-law runs an inn there."

Emerald got up and handed me a chocolate chip waffel and some milk in a plastic cup. Ebony continued on about how he, his wife, and his sister-in-law all met. The story itself was actually kind of funny. I finished my milk when the clack of talons on the rooftop stopped him mid rant.

Emerald took control. She said, "I'll get it," before pulling out her weapons and strutting out. I glanced at Ebony, pale as a sheet. Guess he's not comfortable with being outside the Kingdoms.

I went back to work splicing wires, cooling down the dust chaneler, ignoring Ebony. I moved from the main circut to the outside engines. The corpses of a dozen small Nevermore littered the ground. I nodded to Emerald. She began to work on the Ursa that wandered over to her thanks to the gun shots; I finished up on the Bullhead.

Ebony stared at us at us when we got back in. Emerald and I shared a glance. She left it to me to explain. Great.

"We're Hunters in training. Beacon's gone. Grimm aren't." His face changed. I don't think he knew what to make of us. The general population doesn't understand that the people who can kill Grimm and walk away without a scratch don't wear spandex.

He started the engines up and we left the forest. Lunch and dinner flew by. I asked for rope and two hammocks; he gave me a rope and two hammocks. I tied the bed down so it wouldn't shift anymore and put our bags in the hammocks above. It and hours of gaming worked wonders for my mood.

We were lying about a lot of things: being from Beacon, training to be Hunters, and even something as basic as our names. We based all of our lies on facts. Our constant was gone, our purpose was lost, the world was coming apart at the seems and we didn't know how to fit in with the world anymore.

He did what most people did, pretended he was okay with it.

* * *

Fence was nothing like I'd imagined. It was a coastal town on the cliffs surrounded by trees, that much was accurate from Ebony's description. The town was etched into the cliffs. Caves with windows, boardwalks and ladders made homes. Ebony told us that was just the outskirts of Fence.

He took us lower, along the edge of the waterline. A cave so large a cruiser ship could fit in the entrance came into view. My mouth dropped open in shock. It was Fence's harbor. No, it was a cave of wonders.

The true town was an outgrowth of the rare cave-harbor. It was naturally a part of the clifside. The huge cave connecting all other caves that ships could sail inside. Lights were at the top of the major cave and the floor of every entrance. It illuminated the insane sight.

Two cruise ships were on opposite sides of the docking bay for all aerial transport. Ebony landed the Bullhead there. There were at least ten with space for tripple. A blonde faunus woman with bright blue eyes was there to meet us.

"Ebony! Who are the kids?" She asked cheerfully as we clambered out.

"Some students from a combat school with no where to go. Guy's good with his hands. Girl can carry her own weight too. Looking for work. Got any leads for them?" That's weird. Why didn't he call us by name yet ask about jobs for us?

"You ain't staying?" Confusion clouded over her face.

"I've got to get to Ivory." His voice was a little rougher than usual.

"I see. Well, ya'll can stay in my inn for the time being. All the refugees means there's less regular jobs and too many people. Everyone going out means a hassel to keep things organized."

"You're doing a great job Kaitlynn."

"Thanks Ebony. The ship on the right's going to Vaccuo in two days. Ya'll go to the inn with the sign that says 'The Glas House' on it. One 's' mind you. Tell them Kaitlynn sent you. Stay in the lounge."

"Wait. They're staying to help me unload for the Cloth Market. Payment for taking them here." Kaitlynn's cheerful manner disapated at the words Cloth Market.

"You back in that again? Ivory ain't going to like it one bit Ebony."

"Need money. My job's bust, and Ivory wants to have a kid." A small sigh from Kaitlynn.

"I won't judge you. Just don't bring it back with you. I want my sis to live clean. Tha's all." She left to greet more people as they came onto the docks.

Ebony nodded to the boxes. So that's what we we're going to pay him in. It's better than Lien. I took a box off the top; Mercury took two to be Macho. Ebony grabbed a box and set it down before locking the Bullhead.

He went down the tunnel to the left of the docking area. It was big enough to fit a Pallidan and unnaturally widened. Solid rock throughout, we passed so many people I lost count. Faunus, human, male, female, adult, child, they all blended together in my peripheral vision.

We took three turns, left, left, right going downwards on the third turn. Then there was another large cave. It was filled with boxes set on bright colored cloth with geometric patterns. Some of them went all the to the top of the cave. Ebony took us to one of these.

A woman with dark skin, an orange scarf, and a no-nonsense attitude greeted us. Around her open crates of foodstuffs abounded. She was yelling at the top of her lungs to keep people organized. The swarm of people moved around us on her orders, and we were gently nudged to the front.

"What we got here?" she asked.

"Eggs, meat, and other perishables, Ms. Sirona. There's more in my vehicle, " he responded.

"I see. Now who do I make the procedes out to?"

"E. Carter."

"Gotcha. So am I not paying those two?"

"They're paying for the ride here this way."

"Alright then. Start a stack on my bottom left."

"Yes Ms. Sirona."

Mercury set his two down, and Ms. Sirona went back to yelling. Ebony tidied it up and I followed suit. We left as quickly as we could.

We went back and forth like this. Ebony carefully locked the Bullhead each time before moving back to the Cloth Market. Soon the hallways between the docking bay and Cloth Market emptied out. The places individually still had people milling about.

The Cloth Market became a lot shadier. People kept their hoods up and some started wearing masks. Ammunition and weapons came out as food and medicine was tucked away. Mercury adopted his fighting stance subconciously. I tried to avoid doing that.

Instead I mulled over what all of the things that had happened today meant. He was looking out for us to an extent. He tried to get us jobs and let us pay with labor instead of Lien. He also hooked us up with an affluent innkeeper. We weren't introduced by name.

It seemed like there was something he had yet to tell us. On the last trip the woman gave Ebony a thick stack of cash. She pulled Ebony aside for a moment to talk with him. His concious was cleared after that. He walked over with that same sales-man smile he'd started to use a little while ago.

"That takes care of that! I'll show you where my sister-in-law's is." He pulled us into a side tunnel we hadn't gone through before.

Right, right, up, left, up. After the second ladder he stopped in the middle of the narrow hall. Mercury tensed as Ebony turned around to talk to us.

"Don't go into the Cloth Market at night. What we all just did? That was a one time thing. Those people aren't like Kaitlynn or Ms. Sirona. If you need ammunition show them your scrolls during the daytime. Never go at night. Marshal, Essie, do you understand?" His twitch was going.

He ducked side to side and acted like this was some kind of amazing advice. No shit we weren't supposed to go at night! We probably were going to do it anyways eventually, but the whole thing screamed sketchy-White-Fang-or-normally-illegal stuff. Does he think we're idiots?

A couple of sweet talking lies on my behalf and his twitching slowed down. His face brightened up, and it was just two lefts until we reached the docking bay and grabbed our bags. Then it was three ladders and a right to The Glas House. It was on the door painted in blue. Kaitlynn opened the door, chewed out Ebony, and gave us a room upstairs.

It was a lot bigger than the one on the Bullhead. The bed, dresser and washbowl fit with room to spare. We even got a port window with it. I was too tired to unpack, so I flopped onto the bed. I managed to stay awake long enough to make sure that Mercury got his end of the deal.

I think that we'll be fine until you get here Cinder.

* * *

Emerald really seems to like this place. Trusting Ebony was a good idea. She's perked up a lot since coming here. This place agrees with her in a way I'd never imagine. I know that this place is beyond belief, but it's like she's suposed to be here.

It makes me sure that I don't want us to stay. I can't keep this up much longer. She's the actress. I'm the mercenary. I can't change that.

I've got to think of something to get us out of here. I know it's selfish. It's not what's best for her mental health. It's just what's best for the lie. Maybe a job that's dangerous and outside the towns would be best.

A job. My grip on Emerald tightened, and she moved restlessly in my arms for a moment. I relaxed my grip. Her breathing slowed and became deep and even.

My mind ran away with it. A job that could take the two of us far. Emerald doesn't want to fight or be used by anyone. I don't want to deal with people. One of the few things that could do that for us popped into my head.

Transporters.

* * *

The paths were long and very strange.

The mice were unused to this change.

* * *

 **Yo! I just wanted to give you a run down on the names. They do follow Monty's rules. Glas means blue in Welsh, and Ms. Sirona's first name is Sienna. Also, yay interracial mariage! Ebony is human, while Ivory is a faunus like her big sister Kaitlynn. Kaitlynn is also meant to resemble the character her namesake voice acts: Winry Rockbell from Fullmetal Alchemist. This does mean that Ivory's maiden name is Ivory Glas making her have two color influences originally, but it works with her new name. That family's full backstory will be explain later.**

 **Poor Mercury doesn't realize that he's been holding Emerald subconciously. It's going to get him in a lot of trouble if he does more things like that. Sorry for it being so late in my update. I was really sick yesterday and couldn't write.**

 **I hope you enjoyed the chapter and will stay in touch. The contest for codenames is still going on, so please keep that in mind if/when you drop a review.**


	4. Chapter 3

**Did you miss me? Did you miss me?! Before I go on my traditional list of thank yous, I'd like to address something that Darkerpaths pointed out to me regarding the word 'Faunus'. I had only heard the word before, so I ended up asuming the spelling was 'faunist'. Please forgive me for that, from here on in it will be the correct spelling. Now chapter five is posted I've gone back and fixed chapter 2. Thank you so much for pointing it out to me. I've also got two other towns for them to visit, and I am really happy that you liked the world building Fence provided. They won't leave for a chapter or two yet though.**

 **Without further ado, let me go on my custumary rant of thank-yous and shout outs. Starting with the newset reviewer, shout-outs to Darkerpaths, cinderhasfallen, claraowl, and Guest: Andrew. Now for the followers, once again starting with the newest, 7Artemis7, Darkerpaths, Alleycat826, clarowl, and cinderhasfallen. Without you guys I'd never have the motivation to do any of this.**

 **Here's the story for all of ya'll.**

 **Chapter 3: Can't Win**

I woke up to Emerald being in my arms. It's fucking weird. Why the hell are we sleeping like this? Ah, right it's a rule. Rules are a big deal for Emerald.

How can I get her to get us out of here? Can I use her rule making against her? No, that's not gonna be a good opener. Shit, Emerald always worked that part out when we did things like that bookshop guy.

Let's see. Would: Hey Emerald, I've figured out a job for us that let's us travel, is high paying, and, oh yeah, get hell out of this claustraphobic labryinth that could fall into the ocean at anytime, work? Maybe not the last part.

If I could work the travel, high-paying, and isolated part, then maybe she'd listen. Wouldn't have to lie all the time. Could look for Cinder. Get paid. Good deal all around.

We'd need things. Maps for one. Seed money. Shit. How would we get around? It's not like people have all-terrain vehicles they're willing to lend out.

Land and flight-able Grimm to deal with too. Need a bigger gun. Shit. I tossed around a bit. That must've woke Emerald up.

"Mercury? Are you going to get up at any point?" Emerald asked me. I fiegned sleepiness.

"Mhh? Right. Breakfast." I flipped my arm off her, and she got up. We turned away from each other to straighten out our clothes. My emblem cloth was too wrinkled for my liking. Did this place have a iron?

I turned around to Emerald combing her hair with a cheap comb. She took out the top drawer of the dresser and put it on the bed. It had a bunch of cheap combs, a bar of soap, travel sized conditioner and shampoo, and a couple of condoms in it. I ignored the last one, but I took out a comb and started becoming presentable.

We stashed our duffle bags under the bed instead of unpacking in case we had to leave quickly. We hadn't payed for last night. Who knows where to get breakfast around here. It'd probably be disgusting and hideously expensive. Emerald couldn't say I'd backed out on our deal though.

We left the room and locked the wooden door behind us. We squeezed past a family of five down the narrow hallway. The worn stone stairs proved to be a bit tricky without guard rails for their son. He fell onto my back. I set him upright before Emerald could notice anything.

The dinning area was packed with people. Kaitlynn directed us to hot plates, a pantry, some bowls and silverware, and a menu with a price tag. I loaded up on baccon, eggs, and buttery toast. Emerald grabbed a little bit of everything. It translates to all of my pocket money being gone once we got to the cash register.

Emerald started up a conversation.

* * *

I woke up as Mercury's pillow. It wasn't as uncomfortable as disorienting. I'm never going to tell him that though. My arm had fallen asleep. Once he started tossing and turning I bugged him to just get up.

We left the room after hiding our stuff beneath the bed and fixing our bed head. Mercury had a little boy fall onto him on the stairs. He's really bad with people, but not so much with kids. He set him back with his parents, and I pretended I hadn't seen. His tough guy pride would've been hurt.

Kaitlynn's antlers stuck out of the crowd of people at the bottom of the stairs. When we got close enough she gestured to the other end of the bar she was sitting behind. We followed the line to hot food. A family behind us was talking about ticket prices. It had to do with the number of packages they were planning to carry.

"It's not like we can take everything with us. There's a strict two bag policy. They have to have room for food as well."

"But couldn't we pay just a little more?" The man whined.

"That's not how it works. This is the only boat home. We have to obey the rules. I heard there's a market you can sell extra things at for a good price."

"But we need our stuff!" He protested.

Breakfast wasn't cheap so I tuned them out to focus on enjoying it. I wonder how much a ticket for the boats cost. The money Ebony had gotten at the Cloth Market could cover his ticket, but probably not all of his stuff. The sheer amount of people going to Vaccuo meant he'd have to sell the Bullhead.

I switched from my croissant to cheesy eggs and baccon. I puzzled over the deliema of how to not get surup on my biscuts. I ended up applying blueberry surup inbetween the pancakes to avoid spill over. A thought occurred in my mind. It wasn't fully formed, but had a little merit.

"I have an idea for a job. I'm going to need some time to check it out though. If it doesn't pan out I don't think we have very many other options," I told Mercury before washing down my pancake with a glass of grape juice.

"Do we need more code words?" Mercury asked.

"You're not going to let that go, are you?" He gave me one of his cocky grins. I rolled my eyes. He always does this.

I noticed the door frames were a little higher than usual. Even the giant Mercury fought could fit in with ease. I guess it was to fit Kaitlynn's antlers better. Luckly the person I wanted to see walked right through them. I gave Mercury a look.

We played the waiting game. Lots of smiles and stuble looks. Ebony first talked to Kaitlynn before coming over to us. The two of them got kind of heated. I finished up my sausage and biscuts and motioned Mercury to do the same. Ebony set his hands down on our table and pulled on a big grin.

"You guys want to go on a walk? Find out more about the place?" Ebony asked us. A child could tell that he wanted someone with him so he could have justification for walking in here and having an arguement with the innkeeper. He was apart of my plan. I let him be.

"Sure! Lead the way. Just let us clean up first," I said with a smile. Mercury didn't. He's really got to work on his people skills.

We washed our plates at the sink by the windows. Mercury mouthed something to me. I couldn't tell what he was saying though. We turned slightly toward each other.

"Marshal and Essie?" He mouthed a little clearer at me.

"Marshal and Essie," I mouthed back.

* * *

Ebony waited for us at the door. He took us to a ton of different places while 'Essie' kept up the conversation. The playground, salt processing room, the fresh water spring, the Black Box Cafe, and the hospital all stuck out. The last one more so than the rest. When she saw how many people were hurt fleeing Vale Emerald stopped talking.

At first Ebony was still rambling on talking to the receptonist, so he didn't notice. I tried a gentle elbowing to her side. Still nothing. We had just had lunch. She wasn't hungry. I took over from there.

Ebony volunteered us to help Dr. Orchid make her rounds. Emerald went to the kitchen to help cook lunch while Ebony and I changed bandages. It became mechanical. Of course he had to have his heart to heart right then and there.

"Marshal, you got to promise me something. I'm getting on that boat tomorrow. Promise me that you'll help Kaitlynn in any way you can. She's under a lot of stress, you guys have some skills most people don't, and I want Ivory to know her sis has someone looking after her."

I shouldn't have glanced at Ebony. He looked like his ticket to hell had already been paid for. The man who had given us a ride to and tour of Fence was gone. My face was still neutral when I looked at all the blood. His face had turned pale.

"I know you and Essie aren't like most kids, hell most people. That's why I'm hoping you can do something around here I can't. It's why I'm giving you the Bullhead. Promise me you'll take care o' them. My Bullhead, sister-in-law, and Essie all need some help.

Why is it that every single time we manipulate people for a while things like this happen? Always the heart to heart, feel-good hypocritical crap fest. I have to sit through Ebony giving me the whole promise-to-help-my-sister speil, followed by the do-right-by-Emerald talk. Emerald gets to lounge around a kitchen where she can steal all the scraps she wants. Neither of us like this part, but she wasn't in the right state to really deal with it.

The shattering of glass caught our attention. Emerald was shaking. The tray in her hands was empty, just like the shattered cups of glass at her feet. I moved to pick her up and away from the shards, and she stepped backwards. I guess I had too much blood on my hands from changing bandages. I'd triggered her.

The doctor rushed over and helped Emerald out of the glass shards area. She then spun on her heels and walked to a room with a curtain. I looked at Ebony. He seemed to read the situation for once and pointed me to the bathroom.

I washed the blood off of my hands and nearly broke the counter from smashing my hand against it. There goes everything I've ever worked for. Everything I'd done until now had been careful so that I wouldn't see that face on Emerald. I focused on my breathing. Deep breaths. In through the nose, out through the mouth. No rage.

I crept past Ebony sweeping up the broken glass. I paused outside the curtained alcove. I pushed open the curtain a crack to find Emerald. She was sitting on the wrap around stone chair. Our eyes met.

Deep breaths.

* * *

Slowly the realization sank in.

Two mice against the world could not win.

* * *

 **I realized last chapter didn't give out what kind of faunus Kaitlynn was. We've already had named faunus of the cat, monkey, bull, and (rat? wolf? puma?) persuasions, in order: Blake and Neon, Sun, Adam, and Tuskson, so since antlered or deer faunus are canon it made sense to have more representaion.**


	5. Chapter 4

**Guess who's back!? Now I will do my customary shout outs and thank yous. I will also be thanking people who have** **favorited this time. Shout out to c laraowl, cinder has fallen, DarkerPaths, and guest: Andrew for reviewing. Thank you claraowl, cinder has fallen, and Pearl Darkness for favoriting _Her G_** ** _aurd Dog_. Thank you to c laraowl, Pearl of Darkness, cinder has fallen, DarkerPaths, 7Artemis7, and Allycat826 for following along as well. Now for what everyone wants.**

 **Chapter 4: A Good Path**

There's so much blood. Blood up to his elbows. Blood on his shirt. It's someone elses blood. I know that. But that's what I look like to other people when we're on missions. I think for the first time I'm on the outside looking in at what we do for Cinder. No! Cinder's good! Cinder saved me! Cinder took me off the streets and gave me a purpose!

 _But is it a good purpose? How many people have ended up like this because of what you've done?_ It's not like they were important! _Oh my, in the name of Oum. Is this me? Is this me? Is this what I'd do for a meal?_

This is what I'd do for Cinder. This is what I do for the person who kept me off the streets and promised me a place in a new world. Cinder let me in on reality. She let me get back at all of the people who made the world that made me a thief. Blood is a part of the real world.

I looked out from the niche. The doctor was still talking to my illusion that was sitting much closer to her. Mercury was peeking through the curtain. His shadow was still somewhat visible. Our eyes met. I montioned him to stay out of ithe room until I'd rejoined my illusion.

"I saw where you were looking. Tell me, was it because he was your partner, or because of all of the blood that you flinched." A clinical sounding question from an atypical looking doctor.

"Blood." It was the first time I looked at her directly since coming in here.

If it was just Mercury covered in blood, then I'd probably assume he won whatever fight we'd just started. The fact that that much blood had gotten on his shirt from changing bandages unnerved me. I went back to being a street kid after a brush with the cops. I don't like reverting. I don't like being thought of as a hired thief.

"You hate it too then? All of this vilolence in the name of 'truth' or'equality'? To be honest, we have it delightfully easy here in Fence. Access to food, medical supplies, and even a way for people to go to any of the other three kingdoms without the hassel of passports." Her disgust was apparent.

My head shot up at the last part. That's probably why Ebony came here, besides to turn a profit. No passport, no customs, no red tape. No wonder I liked all of it. Fence is a pirate port.

"Do you see where I'm going with this? I know a bit about Ebony, sentimental sap. He's probably leaving his Bullhead in your hands as we speak as Kaitlynn has no need of it, and there are less than respectable buyers in the area."

Well that's asuming my little blood trip didn't make him reconsider. Mercury's not the best manipulator either. The Doctor made a small noise. I looked up. Her head was tilted to the side slightly.

"If this isn't true then I'll talk to him about it. You have weapons. That was one of the first things I noticed about you when you and your partner walked in. If you were a huntress and hunter pair in training, then I have a job for you." I made a tiny motion with my hand.

"A job?" Mercury asked from the doorway. The doctor turned to him in suprise. She crossed her arms. Obvious tell. Whether or not it's from him barging in or if she just doesn't like men I don't know, but she isn't too happy.

"Yes. Transporting medical supplies from here to a town called Timber. I'll give you maps, a deal on non-cartrige Dust, and even a tip on how to make a profit from the town's resources. Are you in?" she asked curtly.

Mercury and I answered at the same time.

"Yes."

* * *

Emerald snapped back and started smirking behind the purple haired doctor's back. That's the look of everything going right. No more curling into a ball anymore. We got a job, and I didn't even have to mention the idea of transportarion. I guess it's the only job either of us would even consider doing. No few orders, good pay, and maybe even a little respect. Probably not the last one though, no one thanks an Airbus driver after all.

Ebony was there to greet us when we walked out of there maps, a voucer for Sirona, and a plan in our hands. He first looked at Emerald then at me. The doc walked between us. His face went from hard to smooth buisness man. She only got more annoyed.

"Ms. Orchid, how are you today?" His salesman smile was fully in place.

"It's Doctor, Ebony. I've got a plan to get supplies to Timber that, like it or not, you're a part of. Well, your Bullhead and knuckleheads are a part of at least. So get out of my way, and let them explain it. I've got patients to treat," she said before elbowing past us. Ebony watched her leave. Perv.

"Isis Orchid. Always was a huge stickler for order and efficiency. Makes you wonder how she ended up in a place like this with bad air and poor plumbing. Now what's this supply run entailing exactly?" He turned to us.

Emerald became 'Essie' again and guided him towards the docks. She explained about how disinfectant, flu vacines, asprin, pads, tampons, and other medical supplies needing moving to Timber. In exchange we'd get bandages, food, and lumber there to take back to Sirona. Ebony nodded along while I kept any eye out for any wandering hands.

I pinched a possible pick pocket that was trying to steal our voucher. That let Ebony know that something was up. We took him up a few ladders and down a dead end alley. He asked what we just got that was so important to steal. I told him about the voucher. He gave a low whistle.

"That's grade A stuff then. I'd suggest hidding it near yer chest Essie, but I don't think you'd be hiding anything," he said frankly.

I'll give him that one. Cinder purposfully made Emerald wear less during the turnament so that our competators would be distracted. Not like her wearing that sweat shirt we both came here with was normal. She's like a furnace at night. On the bright side I'll never get cold at night again.

"True. We're going to use it tomorrow before leaving. Are you sure she'll accet it?" I asked.

"Sirona isn't cruel. This says it's to get medical suplies to Timber. Plus Isis used the terms medical emergency, natural duty in a time of crisis, and, her favorite, possible profits," Ebony said grinning.

Based on what we saw yesterday, that was 100% true. All of us shared a laugh before going back to the Glas House. We bought two packs of ramen and left Ebony and Kaitlynn to talk things out. Emerald stole some of my noodles. Afterwords Emerald dragged me along to ask about getting a shower. Kaitlynn swatted Ebony for not explaining it before.

"Plumbing's bad in Fence. No one likes seeing the piping, and we can't disgiuse it. So we have a public restroom and bathhouse. Go down the ladder and take two rights. It's just a wall away from the Spring. Take your towels and a change of clothes. The restroom's a left at the fork so you don't have to get up and pee in the middle of the night. It doesn't cost anything to shower, so don't bring any money. Oh, I'll sell you both some soap for only three Lien each. Want in?" Kaitlynn's saleswoman side kicked in at the end.

"Thanks. Let's go to the room for our stuff," I said with a nod to Emerald.

"Right. We'll come back after our bath," Emerald said to them.

We went back upstairs and unlocked the door with our scrolls. Emerald and I grabbed our clothes and two towels. I let her walk ahead of me as we left. I can understand knowing where the pot was, but I don't get why we have to take showers. Compared to when we're in the field for a few weeks this is nothing.

I wonder how many bathrooms they've got. It'd suck to wait in the lines outside of one. I guess they've got maybe twenty showers. Should only take about thirty minutes to get a stall. If I have to shower at least I'll get some privacy.

* * *

Everythings ok again. Ebony's leaving tomorrow for Vaccuo, and we've got permission to stay at the Glas House for free for two more nights. After that we're leaving in the Bullhead. Mercury and I decided that since we're going to get paid once we get to a town called Timber that Ebony should have our money in payment for the Bullhead. I'm pretty sure that he doesn't realize I stole most of it.

Either way we just had a dinner and are finally getting a shower. It's been days. I can't wait to get clean again. I'm sweaty, covered in dust, and my hair's greesy. If there's a bath in there I just want to lay in it until I have pruney fingers.

We grabed a bar of soap each from Kaitlynn before heading out. At fork we went left, and I made sure to check I wasn't bleeding. If your bleeding they won't let you into the bath, just the showers. Thankfully the broken cresent isn't out yet. I get to have a bath.

I walked into the women's side of the baths. The first room was a changing room with lots of cubbies. I undressed and put my clothes in the uppermost left cubby on the left entrance side. I made a note of that before walking into the showering area. It was tiled in a mosaic patern on the bottom and sides with clean showerheads.

I put my towel on the metal bar and started getting clean. The water ran brown until I managed to get completely clean. After I scrubbed off I wrapped my hair up in towel and went to the baths. There were a lot of women, girls, and a few todlers in the baths. The youngest weren't allowed into the baths in case they peed in it.

I dipped a toe in one that didn't have many in it. I let out a little moan of pleasure. Scalding hot. Perfect. I lounged in there for at least an hour with my hands on the sides and my head lolled back. A gong shounded out, and I opened my eyes.

"Thirty minutes until we drain the baths. Please exit before hand," a fully dressed woman with a gong and mallet in her hands called out.

I waited another fifteen minutes before leaving. All of the mothers had gotten their children dressed and out the door already. I toweled off in relative privacy. I changed into my clean pair of clothes and dried my hair.

I wonder if Mercury had it as relaxing as I did. I found him waiting outside with a pissed off look on his face. A couple of guys were muttering as they came out.

"Man's got legs of steel."

"What a freak."

"Too bad his dick isn't made of steel."

I realized what a mistake I'd made. Mercury would join me automatically, but he lived in the country before this, and solitary bathing is the norm in most cities and towns. He probably didn't know about community bathing. I walked up to him and made sure to make eye contact. He looked at me for a few seconds before letting out a sigh and pushing off the wall.

"Let's go back to the hotel, Merc."

I discretly flipped off the guys who'd bad mouthed Mercury's leg. We walked back in silence. I think we might have been a little rude to Ebony and Kaitlynn. We dragged our legs up to the room. We dumped our dirty clothes on the floor and slung our towels over the side of the bed.

Mercury flopped on the bed face down. I sat down next to him. He didn't move. I laid down and turned my head to him after a bit. No eye contact after a whole minute. My face fell.

"Let's just never bath in Fence," I said to the ceiling.

He grunted his aproval then slung his arm over me. I let myself get pulled close. The sight of that many rude, naked men would be tramatizing no matter who saw it. I felt him sniff my hair for inspection. His head nuzzeled into the back of my neck.

We have a plan. We'll be undercover as transporters in order to get people to start talking more freely. Hopefully by going to all these places we can find and rejoin you soon Cinder. After that it's things will go back to being normal and we'll all maintain seperate rooms and baths. Mercury's hands and legs are freezing.

I started to drift off after that.

* * *

But they would strugle all of their days,

To find a good path in this maze.

* * *

 **I am (i)mature enough to talk about women dealing with their periods and menstrating. Realistically it makes sense that those would be the things she mentioned to Ebony.** **I wanted to switch up the formula this time. Emerald needed more screentime to deal with her partial breakdown. Don't worry. It will go back to focusing on Mercury again. Please drop a review here, and maybe go back to chapter 3 and drop a review there. If that was a terrible chapter I need to know so I can fix it.**

 **Isis and Sirona are both goddesses of healing acording to Egyptian and Greek mythology, respectivly. All characters in Fence will follow this rule with the exception of Kaitlynn since she has named family members. All towns will follow that rule. Named families won't refference the town naming themes. Guess what the themes are for the future towns in the comments! Also the naming contest is also still on.**


	6. Chapter 5

**Hi fanaticalParadox. I don't know if you know, but this story updates every two weeks on thursdays. Just putting it out there on the internet so that everybody knows. Two weeks on Thursdays. Everytime I update expect another update two weeks later.**

 **Next week on Friday is Fix-it Friday. I'll be going back to look for typos and other problems that are currently in the chapters because this is all being typed out on a tiny Nook keyboard instead of a glorious computer. If anyone can tell me where a few of them are in the comments, I'll give you a cookie.**

 **So! Shout outs to first to all reviewers fanaticalParadox, claraowl, Darkerpaths, cinderhasfallen, and guest: Andrew. Now I should go ahead and say thank you to the people following this 7Artemis7, Allycat826, Darkerpaths, Pearl Darkness, cinderhasfallen, claraowl, fanaticalParadox, and** ** sterling visions you guys are awesome. Pearl Dakness, claraowl, and cinderhasfallen thanks for publically favoriting this. Now onto what everbody wants.**

 **Chapter 5: Rigging the Game**

My pillow smells good. Weird. I can't remember when it got washed. Wait I don't sleep with a pillow. I sleep with Emerald. Emerald smells good. Really good. Ah. Shit. This is not the time to get it up. Urgh. Boiled asparagas. Cabbages. Leeks. Brocolli. Fuck a duck why are all these vegetables green?!

I positioned my hips slightly away from Emerald. If there's any being in control of Remnant please don't let her notice. She began to wake up slowly. Her body began shifting in my arms. More of Emerald's shampoo. Don't think about her like that. Don't think about her like that for fucks sake. Just don't.

"Mercury?" she said sleepily. She's probably looking vunerable and don't think about her like that.

"Mmmh," I groaned. Don't think about her that way. Don't think about her that way.

"Mercury, we're going to miss breakfast," she said significantly more awake now.

"MMMMH." No matter what my pants say I don't want to get up today.

"I know it's comfy in here, but we have to get up!" She began squirming.

I let her up. A reward for not noticing my little problem. Also so that it wouldn't continue to grow any more. Fuck. I hope this isn't going to happen every night.

We went down stairs. Ate breakfast. Left the Glas House. Got the Bullhead keys from Ebony. Saw Ebony leave on the cruiser. The boats left, and I looked around. The croud that had been squeezing around us had disappeared.

Kaitlynn's face was pinched up. She was looking around lost. Lost because only about thirty people were on the peer. I recognized Isis Orchid, Ms. Sirona, the guy who rang the gong in the bath house, and the girl next to him looks exactly like him.

This place is huge, and it only has about thirty people left in it that give enough of a damn about the rest of the world to watch people leave. Cinder won. Chaos and fear rule. So why doesn't it feel like a win?

I went into the Bullhead cockpit. All of the nicknacks were gone. I removed the panel under the controls and took a look. None of this makes sense. What the hell is wrong with me? I'm one of Cinder's gaurd dogs. A win for her is a win for me. I'm supposed to be killing the system or whoever I'm told to.

Think in terms of missions. Make sure everything goes according to plan. Until the radio silence after the flash at I did everything down to the smallest detail. Protecting Emerald. I'm not sure who's protecting who right now. I just know while I have her back, she might not have a grip on her head.

I started splicing cords together. Nice and neat. Great. What do I do now? Push-ups. ...1. 2. 3. 4. 5...

First I'm undercover as a student of a school I've never been inside...31. 32. 33. 34. 35...Now I'm an undercover transporter who used to lIve the life of a student at a different school that in reality I infiltrated with...55. 56. 57. 58. 59... two other terrorists and a hired assasion. How am I going to keep this story straight?

...75. 76. 77. 78. 79...

I'm lying to them.

...85. 86. 87. 88...

That's the truth.

...92. 93. 94...

The truth is that I'm lying to everyone.

...96. 97...

Life's so much easier with repitition.

...100...

Emerald and Kaitlynn are waiting outside. Emerald doesn't give me the obvious discrete look. We started walking to the Cloth Market. Kaitlynn noticed where we were going and decided to start climbing ladders. She made a comment about how her sister, brother-in-law and neighboors would be safer here from Grimm.

I couldn't help but smile.

* * *

I think that's the best night's sleep I've gotten since we came to Fence. I was warm, felt clean,and Mercury repositioned his hands so I wouldn't freeze. This is peacful, but I'm hungry. I glanced at my scroll's clock. Holy fucking shit it's already 9:20?! Breakfast ends at 10!

I woke Mercury up in a hurry. He acted like some kind of bear in hibernation. Grumpy asshole. Took forever to get him downstairs. We barely squeezed in breakfast. Kaitlynn and Ebony ate with us. Can't bite the hand that feeds you.

We kept up the conversation about the ship leaving for Vaccuo today. It seemed pretty lighthearted until it came to the other ship going out.

"The other ship has about a third more passsengers. Has to go to Atlas as well for refuling. That and more people in Vaccuo know about this place than Mistral and Atlas, but not combinded. Some people aren't taking it too well."

"Because of the footage and firsthand reports from others here."

"Let's not talk about this anymore. What happened is too fffed up."

"What shcool were the two of you from again?"

"Beacon. Seccond years. Lost in on of the preliminaries of the tournament."

"Should I be on the lookout for them here?" Kaitlynn asked eagarly. Apparently our transportation services had captured her admiration.

"Lilika went home with her parrents due to injury before things the tower was lost. We lost track of our leader when the lights went out. If you see a girl with brown hair that her left eye let us know. She has pale skin and light brown eyes," I lied so easily. Truth and a lie in one always makes things easy.

"She dresses kind of like Emerald." I kicked Mercury under the table.

"Expect a boob window then?" Ebony asked with a laugh. I gave him a dirty look, but I know it is

"Smaller window. Add black heels and a chocker. Acctually we have no idea what exactly she's wearing now. She probably hit the woods. Kind of like us in that way. It's unlikely that she's here though. She'll want to get closer to her home town," Emerald said with a sigh.

"What place? Maybe I know it. Help you find her." Kaitlynn seems really eager to help. What did those two talk about last night when we went to bed?

"It," Emerald gave a moment's pause to figure out the lie, "disappeared five years ago."

"Ah. That happens a lot with other places." Kaitlynn and Ebony nodded sagely.

"But not Fence?" I asked.

"No. Never Fence. We don't go too deep without back-up and our entrances to the outside are small. We know how Grimm work," Kaitlynn said with her head held high.

* * *

No. You really don't know how the Grimm work Kaitlynn. Sure they can't get through the water edges or fit in holes in the ground, but they could still come. In ships and in spades. That's how Grimm work. You're nice and all, but you have no fucking idea.

You haven't even thought for a seccond that maybe your brother-in-law might have made a huge mistake. Like maybe he let the hands of the person who destroyed Vale into your home.

I wish I could say that. I wish we didn't have to sit here and take this shit. Avoiding topics because it's the polite thing to do. Seeing people who you'll never see again off. Having all these people think your the one who'll make the world a better place when you're the one who fucked it up in the first place.

I need space. Air. A bathroom I don't have to share with fourty other guys. I want the next phase to start. I need new orders from Cinder. I looked at Emerald. Both of us need Cinder, but we don't have her.

At the moment, Emerald is in charge. So it's time to follow the temporary leader down this claustraphobic clusterfuck of a town. It's easier to follow her than actually learn the layout. We arrived at the Cloth Market in minutes without having to carry cargo. Sirona looked at us curiously.

"Well hello. You two are the ones Ebony Carter hired to transport his wares here, is that correct?"

"Yes. We have a voucher from Doctor Isis Orchid for non-amunition Dust," Emerald said with a casual stance and straight back. Sirona plucked the voucher from her hands. She began glancing it over. Fist she looked to Emerald then at me.

"Both of you are in on this?"

"It's safe to travel in groups."

"Mercury and I have worked together on things just as serious as this before."

"When did I imply this wasn't serious?! Of cource it's serious! The CCT's down, maybe for good, most of the food went on those cruisers, and no one uses radio anymore so all of our communication with the rest of Remnant is zilch," Sirona pinched the bridge of her nose.

"Frankie! Get the dust, grab the supplies, and get it to this pair of nit whit's Bullhead, stat!" she yelled.

Sirona took over from there on out. A box out of this pile, a trunk from another. Snipettes of the cloth the packages were from were cut off of fabric and pinned to the corresponding packages. Lunch for all parties. Then an assembly line was born to start taking everything to the Bullhead. It became packed from floor to ceiling. Once enough was deemed to be on it, I locked the doors and followed Emerald to Sirona's office.

A map of the lands outside Vale too up the entire back wall. On the North West coast was Fence. To the East was forest, the mountain range, and towns marked in red or black ink. All of the ones in black ink had years marked by them. nly about three were marked in brilliant red ink. Fence, Timber, and Spire. Sirona waved us inside.

"You'll need a portable map, and ours is outdated by three months. While you're out there I want you to update your map. If Timber isn't there anymore we need to know. Come back and we'll try again for Spire. It'll take me a day to get that sorted out. Also, are the two of you willing to risk carrying letters? Many of us in Fence have friends in Timber and want to make sure they're alright. That and you'll need three letters of recomendation to seal your identities in Timber to the mayor there. I recommend using Isis's, Kaitlynn's and mine as we already know you. What are your names again?" She finally looked up at us. How does she store that much air to keep talking for so long? Is it her semblance or something.

"That'll be great. Can we drop by tomorrow to pick it up Ms. Sirrona?" Emerald asked with her fake exaughsted smile.

"Oh, don't call me that. It makes me feel old. My first name is Sienna. And yes, you may," Sirona, err, Sienna said. Her head became burried back in the paper work.

Emerald and I went back to the Bullhead to check up on things. One of the stacks needed more rope and the bedding stank. The afternoon was spent washing sheets. Afterwords we made the bed, ate in a much quieter lobby, and went to bed.

* * *

And so when the oppourtunity came,

The mice started rigging the game.

* * *

 **Let's face it. It had to come sometime. The old guy-gets-a-boner-even-though-they-really-aren't-sleeping-together trope. He would have had to deal with it earlier, but neither of them had had a shower in days prior to this. Add in one shitty mattress on a ship with surrounded by Griim infested forrest, so yeah gauranteed cock block.**

 **Due to a certain amount of guesswork on the exact location of the city-state of Vale the places may in this story may violate cannon in probability of existance. We know it's on a penninsula with an island on the opposit part of the inner cressent of Vytal from Vaccuo, but we don't know which penninsula as there seem to be two likely canidates and we don't have a scale on any of these maps. You'd think Miles and Kerry could put a legend on a map for a mythical world populated by our legends, myths, and fantastical tales.**


	7. Chapter 6

**Hey everyone! Wecome to Chapter Six of Her Guard Dog. This will be shorter than my other chapters.**

 **This first author's note is a thank you to all peoples who are consistently reading and reviewing this story, even without official profiles. It means a lot to me and I don't want to praise just the people who are signed in or have an acount because all of my fans are important to me. To those who have favorited this I'd like to thank you 7266aa, Pearl Darkness, Shade1727, cinderhasfallen, claraowl, and fanaticalParadox. 7Artemis7, Alleycat826, Darker Paths, iliketacosalot, and sterling visions I'd like to mention you as my followers even though there's an overlap between followers and favorites. And though others have reviewed consistently, I'd like to mention GravenImage and guest: Andrew even though they may not be reading this. All parties are welcomed and any constructive criticism is welcome.**

 **I'd like to appologize. I came up with this huge promise to update every two weeks on Thursdays, but that will have to be changed to every two weeks on Fridays because of my new schedule. Thus this will be the last Thursday update for a while. Please try to understand.**

 **Chapter Six: Only Dust Remained**

Warmth. Good. Smell. Good. Hair? The fuck? Why is my face full of hair?

I pried my eyes opened. Same thing as yesterday but with a face full of hair. Am I suppossed to get used to this? My arms's going to fall asleep, and I swear there's going to be a hole in the wall if I start dreaming again. Shit, when are my meds going to run out? I'll try to get a refill by the end of the month.

I tried lifting up my arm. Emerald was still asleep and using it as a pillow. I tried snapping my fingers in front of her. It worked. Emerald started waking up.

"Mind giving me back my arm?" I asked. It's still asleep, and I need to be fully awake.

She let go, and I slid my arm out. I began sitting up as Emerald slid her legs off the edge of the bed. The two of us broke into our morning routines, or at least we did something resembling a morning routine. Brush hair, teeth, straighten out clothes. Then we went downstairs.

The lobby was empty. Every possible customer of Kaitlynn's had gotten on the boats. This must be how it normally looks in Fence. It was weird. Kaitlynn greeted us with an envelope.

"It's my letter to the mayor of Timber on your behalf. I wrote it last night. Do you two remember how to get to Orchid's? Just three lefts on the bottom level. Grab lunch before you go to Timber. And please," she gave us a sad look, "be safe."

We didn't eat breakfast at the Glas House. Dr. Orchid gave us food when we got there. The hospital wasn't as full as it once was, but it had pleanty people in there. Dr. Orchid ate with us. Emerald was stuffing her face while I kept the conversation going. It was mostly who to give what which package when we got there.

After we cleaned our dishes Dr. Orchid pulled food out of the pantry. Beans, dried meat, tortillas. Food that'd be easy to eat in the event of a crash. At least someone was thinking of what would happen if we crashed it. Before handing it to us though she looked me directly in the eyes.

"This is food that would otherwise go to my patients, who will die within a month unless you return with more supplies. You will kill thirteen inocent people who are now seperated from their families that they may never see again if you break your pact. Remember your promise," she said.

Then we got the food. We left for the Sienna's office after that. I followed Emerald through the tunnels. Stay five steps behind. Think three steps ahead. The cloth market loomed in front of us. I started looking at the piles for the first time. There was Dust crates, clothes, furniture, medical suplies, and half as much food.

I decided not to think about it when we walked into Sirona's office. She was asleep at her desk. She looked about half her age. The letter was underneath her arm. Emerald tried to scootch it out, but she woke up with a start.

"Huh?! Oh, it's you two. Wait just a second I need to seal that or the mayor will never believe that you're from here. She'll really uptight about that, but I dom't blame her. Remnant's really big, and Timber's important. Here you go," she said yawning.

Emerald did her usual thing of buttering people up before scaming them. Sirona gave us the map we needed, and then we finally got to leave. The port was nice and empty. I didn't want to test my piloting skills in front of an audience.

* * *

I woke up to Mercury being a douche. He couldn't just shake me slightly, he had to snap his fingers in front of me like I was drunk. Then again I was kind of using his arm as a boob pillow. Is that weird? I have a feeling that would be kind of weird if he really knew what his arm was being used for.

Anyways, we hurried through the day to grab all of the letters. Breakfast at the hospital was as bad as it sounds. At least he took notes. You'd think that once we got on the ship Mercury did his thing, and I did mine. The map Sirona gave us needed to be followed exactly. I took over as navigator.

I almost threw up with Mercury driving though. Turns out being able to put pasta in a pot of boiling water does not equate with the fine motor skills for piloting a Bullhead.

* * *

We didn't fall into the sea and I didn't clip the edges of the oepning. I guess that's one perk of it being able to accomadate a cruise ship. It was kind of adrenalizing to pull up so fast and then having to straighten out at the last minute. It wasn't like I damaged any of the cargo.

Finally I could see something more than the ocean. Trees, rocks, the midday sky. They never get attacked. When people come through they have everything that they want but this. I'm flying fast, brushing past treetops, and making minor adjustments per Emerald's instructions.

I wonder if ditching them is such a good idea though. If we find Cinder in the next town they're going to starve. If we don't find Cinder in the next town and don't come back they'll starve. Has Emerald thought about this? We're only playing at being good guys, right?

* * *

Finally their path had some aim,

But what if they left only dust as remains?


	8. Chapter 7

**Hello all! I've fixed some of the major typos that plauged the last chapter and am now uploading it with this one as a two in one deal for the new Friday schedule! Hazzaa!**

 **Now I'd like to go back to thanking each and every individual person once more. For my reviewers, thank you claraowl, cinderhasfallen, guest: Andrew, Darkerpaths, Gravenimage, and fanaticalParadox, all of the feedback you've given to me is much appreciated. For all of the followers of the story that have logged into the site, Shout out to claraowl, cinderhasfallen, Darkerpaths, fanaticalParadox, 7Artemis7, 7266aa, Allycat826, PearlDarkness, Stormy Trix, iliketacosalot, and sterling visions. Thank you all of the people who have publically favorited this Shade 1727, claraowl, cinderhasfallen, fanaticalParadox, 7266aa, Stormy Trix, and PearlDarkness.**

 **Also, this story has now gotten over a thousand views, and I as a bonus I will answer one question about any future plot point 100% honestly. Now for the story!**

 **Chapter 7: Autumn Leaves**

We landed somewhere in Forever Fall for the night. Emerald said that Timber was only about a day away if we headed due north. I made a joke. The tension eased. We had cold dinner. Ember took over first watch since I had actually pioleted the Bullhead.

I took a piss first. One of the biggest disadvanatages to living in there was that it didn't have a bathroom. If we end up having to make this trip often I'm going to figure out how to build one. If the useless mechanic Ebony can put a minifridge in, then I can put a bathroom. I wipeing with red leaves sucks.

I lay in the bed. It's hard getting to sleep tonight. It's weird. I'm no longer having to deal with Emerald taking up space, yet I can't sleep. A beowolf howls somewhere out there. I hear Emerald leave.

I pretend to sleep until she gets back. She stayed in the cargo area but I could hear her. For some reason I could sleep again. I woke up about two thirds of the way through moon fall. Emerald had fallen asleep on her shift. I put the quilt on her and checked the area. The sun's going to rise soon. I'll wait until then to make breakfast.

Now that I know the area's secure though, it wouldn't be out of the question for me to try the second game on my no wifi list. I started it up. There was an avatar customization, rare for games like these. I decided to play as the female ghost, just to shake things up.

"Traveler, are you going to take the mountain path or are you going to take the river path?"

I started level grinding. I was halfway through the boss battle in the third dungeon when Emerald started nudging me with her foot. I looked up. It was sunrise, Emerald was awake and I hadn't beaten the level yet. I gave her a look. She gave me a glare.

"Either you turn off the erotica game and I sleep for another few hours, or I let you finish trying to seduce the succubus, you make breakfast, and we leave."

"Come on, when else am I going to play these games? When you're breathing over my shoulder?"

"Honestly I'm more wondering why it's no wi-fi. I always thought they made ero-games just to get your information. Also I'd go for her seccond right boob. The nipple ring seems important."

"You can tell all that just from a glance? Why aren't you playing it?" I asked. I had been stuck for a little while. So it's all about the nipple ring, huh?

"The purple skin just doesn't do it for me."

"So if it was in a different shade?"

"Exactly. More of a plum. And less pixel butt."

"Hey, what do you expect? It's a no-wifi game."

"It's one saving grace is that it's a interactive porno. What are you going to do? Get off on a eight bit mushroom monster?"

"You're right. I really can't remember the whole quest box at all."

A boarbatusk wandered up. I kicked it. The corpse disappeared by the time we eventually failed the level. I was getting pretty hungery too at that point. The two of us ate some random things we cobbled together. Then we started heading north again. It was a lot easier getting off the ground this time. Emerald stopped looking at the map long enough to ask me a question.

"Why'd you choose a female character in the ero-game anyways, Merc?"

I grinned.

"That way, even if I lose I win."

Emerald flicked me on the nose. It's still a win.

* * *

I decided to have a talk with my stupid reservations. I haven't liked they were saying so far, but it's good to keep yourself on the edge. If I dismiss them too much then the next thing I'm going to do is dismiss my instincts and that's never ended well for me.

I'm not sure if I want Cinder to be in Timber. I want to find her, but I don't want to let the people in Fence down. There's no way they'd make it to Timber before winter sets in or they'd starve to death. Then again, it is called Forever Fall for a reason.

Beowolves howl in the distance.

I just remembered the time we fought the Fall Maiden last year; wait, has it already been a year? It went by so fast, but if you just stood here you'd never notice. Cinder always talked about how powerful the Maidens were, citing their ability to use the elements without semblence or Dust. I never thought about how an entire, ever-growing, forest was changed by one person being on the same continent as it.

I moved slowly to catch them unawares.

If Cinder leaves with the Fall Maiden's powers, could it destroy the forest? The climate? I know she could destroy the known world with a well placed bomb, but what about this unkown world? There's other things that live on Remnant besides humans and Faunists. Could leaving here destroy them? No, it's impossible.

I start the hunt.

The maidens all have to travel to the Wizard's mountain retreat every year. They're gone for at least an extra season. Half of the season before, half of the season after. It's just the way ot works. It can't matter where they are then.

I wish Cinder was here to explain that part to me. Except if she was here Mercury and I wouldn't be on a supply run to town that may no longer exist, and even if the thought occurred to me I wouldn't ask it. It'd be unthinkable. Power or the enviorment? Power or the world? Power over the world is the only answer I think she ever told me.

The quickly decaying corpses are all around me. I stop thinking about stupid mind games. I'm on an alleged supply run to Timber. I'm doing it to put Dust in the Bullhead and as a way to get to Cinder faster. I also don't want her to be there, not yet at least. I want to do a delivery, see what it's like to be the person who chooses the world over power for a few days.

Then everything will be back to normal.

Right?

* * *

I continued piloting. I didn't mention some pretty obvious things about the situation. First of all something was bugging Emerald more than in just a 'Did I really just eat that shit?' way. I tried remembering. Ok, she walked in on me playing an ero-game. Nothing new there.

I took over watch after she fell asleep. Well, more after she'd been asleep for a few hours. It's not normal for Emerald to doze off on watch. I guess it was something before then. Before then she was hunting Beowolves.

Fuck it. I'm no mind reader. She wants to space out and sleep on watch that's her problem. After a while though my ass started to hurt from sitting down so long. I trained every day since I could hold a stick and this is how my body repays me?

Emerald started banging together pots and pan over the makeshift kitchen. I guess since their isn't a dust compartment it shouldn't be too bad if something fell. I started to play a little game. A little to the right, a little to the left, fake some heavy turvulence.

"Mercury! Stop shaking the Bullhead, I don't want to be sick right before lunch!" Emerald shouted.

"Why are you shouting? We're in the same room."

"Because I'm trying to make sausage and rice without kitchen knives on an uneven surface."

I smoothed out the ride. What can I say? Sausage and rice deserves better. After everything was simmering in the pan I heard her open a pill case. Probably ibuprofen. It's kind of weird how easily Emerald gets headaches. I've never really asked, but is it related to her seblance? All I know is that she can down a pill the size of a grape and still get a headache.

"Hey Emerald. How far are we from Timber?" I asked.

"Not too far. I think Siene might have underestimated how long it'd take us to get there. We should be there around three. Of course, we'd have gotten there by no if someone hadn't decided to play ero-games until 9:00," she reminded me.

"Just checking. Besides, you were the one who suggested that we try doing the whole oral sex thing that was ruined once a finger was put in," I shot back.

"Hey it was a good stratagy! It almost worked to, if the stupid purple lafy taffy hadn't summoned reinforcements. Honestly, what kind of succubus summons squid tentcles?" she muttered.

"The ero-game kind." I joked. The burner heard the burner being turned off.

"Mmh. Foods done." Emerald was in food mode again. She's not really too much fun in food mode. I might as well let her eat first. It's a rule after all.

"You eat first, then we'll switch."

"K."

When I got the chance to sit and eat I noticed something weird. The disposable napkins had red leaves printed on them. I didn't think Vale really liked to advertise the fact that the Forrest of Forever Fall was right next to them. Emerald had folded it into a jam packed square.

I decided not to say anything about it.

* * *

The autumn leaves had their place,

But the mice's thoughts could only race.

* * *

 **I have a feeling that I simply must say, "Hello. My name's Mercury Black and I am an ero-games addict."**

 **Sorry if that hits too close to home for anyone. Also, if anyone wants to get into theory discussions with me, just drop a PM my way!**

 **I have to wonder if there is such a thing as an erotica game where you choose your gender and spiecies. I wonder if there's multiple endings. And how they put it as no wifi game. So for people who were wondering if Mercury's a boobs or an ass guy, yes. Also they're at least talking about sex, albiet in the weirdest way I could have thought of.**

 **Also, I said there wouldn't be any weird kinky sex. I did not say that they wouldn't make fun of the weird kinky sex. I was laughing the whole time I was writing that part. I hope you were laughing too.**


	9. Chapter 8

**Yo. I'm kind of getting worried with the radio silence from everyone. If something's wrong with the story, then I'd like to know. If something's going on in your individual lives though, I'm perfectly ok with the quiet. No trying to force anyone to anything.**

 **Either way, thank you 7266aa, Pearl Darkness, Shade1727, Stormy Trix, cinderhasfallen, claraowl, and fanaticalParadox for favoriting Her Gaurd Dog. Thanks to all of the people who have put this on there story alert lists. Yes that means you, 7Artemis7, 7266aa, Allycat826, Darkerpaths, Pearl Darkness, Stormy Trix, anarchopunk, cinderhasfallen, claraowl, fanaticalParadox, iliketacosalot, and sterling visions. Please note that I do this in alphabetical order, there is no other way I can do it and make sure everyone is here.**

 **Anyways, on with the show. :D**

 **Chapter 8: All Was Well?**

We switched off again. It would be better if whoever we met saw Emerald first. Nice girl, dick guy, no brainer. It took us a little while to get there after lunch. One of the problems with the Bullhead is that there's no running water. Then again we got it from Fence

They named a farming town Timber? No one at Fench could have mentioned that? I guessed that there was at a hamlet and maybe a safe house, not acres of cotton and wheat. It even has a train station for delivering to Vale. Why didn't Cinder have attack this place when it seems like it could supply all of Vale with food for a year?

We flew just over the train station into a field by a water tower. I say a water tower because there was at least three. The landing was a little rocky, but nothing came crashing down in the cargo hold. Emerald slid open the door. A man stood outside.

"Who are you, strangers?" He asked. Crew cut, dark skin, a gun. Military, maybe even a hunter.

Emerald gave him her most winning smile.

"We're transporters sent from Fence to trade medicle supplies for food. Our names are Emerald and Mercury."

"Tell me your full names or you aren't going to get close enough for the mayor to verify that," baldy retorted.

Emerald smiled with gritted teeth. Even a master theif can't pretend to be unaffected by that.

"My name is Emerald Sustrai, and his name is Mercry Black."

"Sustrai? As in a petty theif from Vaccuo? And Black? It's comman enough, but I've heard rumours about a character named Marcus Black. Care to explain yourselves?"

"We're former students of Beacon. Before that I probably was what you're thinking, but now I'm a Huntress whose training was interupted due to the attack on Vale."

"Black's comman name. This is just a normal shipment gaurding job, outside the tower being down." I shrugged.

He shifted his weight from attack to relaxed.

"Who's the pilot?" He asked with a good amount of suspicion.

"Me." I said. What's his deal? Does everything have to be doccumented? We're not in Atlas for fucks sake.

"Your flying sucks," he said, looking me in the eye.

"I'll take that into consideration next time Emerald and I take the two day long trip that crosses through Grimm territory to get medical supplies here," I said to make a point.

The gaurd gave a grunt. He escorted us to the lawn of a large, faded pink house. If the woman who runs their government is the kind who paints her house pink, then can't take just this place all that seriously. He knocked on the door and an old man let us inside.

We went up the stairs and into the study. A woman with a neat appearance and glasses looked up from her piles of paper work. I guess everything does need to be documented. Her name plate said Rosa Parker.

She asked us for our letters of verification. Emerald handed them over. Mrs. Rosa looked them and us over. Then she gave a glance to the gaurd.

"What did I tell you about greeting people like they're a Nevermore, Malcolm?" Mrs. Rosa.

"They said they're from Timber! The sewer where all of people without passports and other criminals try to leave the counrty. Are they?!" The gaurd Malcolm asked. I'm guessing he's never seen the place, or came during a rally.

"Malcolm, don't be rude unneccesarily. We need medical supplies and can't be picky from where we get them. Besides, it's our duty to help all the other people in Vale not starve as Beacon's agricultural center. What would you do if your sister was getting treated there do to some sort of twist of fate? Let her starve?"

"Yes, I mean, no, Mrs. Parker! Yes I understand your point, and no we can't let people starve even if they aren't strictly legal," Malcolm said with a salute. He left in a hurry. I'm glad he left.

Mrs. Parker gave a small sigh. Then it was back to focus.

"So tell me, what is your purpose in my town? If it isn't honest or quick, then my age won't be a problem when dealing with you. A Huntress never forgets how to destroy."

* * *

That gaurd was an asshole. There's a difference between doing your job and being a douchebag. Then again, most Kingdoms are very select with who knows their food supply towns. Pretty sneaky for them to call it Timber. No wonder the people Fence made us grab so much stuff to show the mayor.

To be honest, even though it's in the middle of no where, it's not that bad of a place. Lots of high grass, large biuldings, pleanty of privacy, not to mention food. There's orchards, mills, and ranches everywhere. It kind of reminds me of the inn just before we ambushed the then Fall Maiden.

Why can't I stop thinking about it? Everywhere I look I see traces of that day. Food, the scenery, everything just makes me think of it. It's like I'm tresspassing on some sort of holy ground. Is this a sign from the universe saying fuck off you've done enough already?

I'm just trying being good for a week. This doesn't mean anything real. I'll convince the people at Fence to leave once we deliever the new shipment. They can't really stay there anyways. They'll just run into the same problems over and over again.

Do the contract. Tell them their way of life is stupid. Leave. Find Cinder. Have things be normal again. Those have to be the rules. There isn't any comprimising on this.

I looked up at the man leading us. Big guy, muscular, tattooed, definitly a hunter. Doesn't look like a Huntsman though. Then again, I may just be biased on how the standards work out. The best are all recruited by the school headmasters and headmistresses. The rest of the bunch that are almost there get thrown to the classified missions that aren't so classified.

The pink house. The mayor lives in the pink house with rose bushes. I think that means she's either a socialite forced into politcal exile or a really gutsy Huntress. This place looks like Atlas in Vale, so either one's possible.

An old man with a red bandana over his valet uniform answered the door. I'm going with Huntess. It wasn't all pink on the inside. White rugs, wood floors, tasteful wallpaper, furniture that actually looks used. Maybe the gaurd isn't a judge of how people in this town acts.

We walked up the stairs and into her office. Reinforced windows with small metal panes. No socialite would be smart enough for that. I glanced at the nametag before giving her a smile.

Mrs. Rosa Parker is definitly a woman I would want on my side. I gave her the three letters. She looked them over and analyzed the situation. Then she called the gaurd out on his bullshit. I'm glad she's on our side by principle.

* * *

Emerald started talking. She didn't try to talk it up like usual. It was just facts of numbers and materials. I've never heard her so honest with someone outside of Cinder and me. Is this just post-Cinder syndrome or something else?

It was kind of weird. The mayor liked it though, or she liked it decently enough. She gave us three stipulations before we could sell the surplus. The hotel, storage center, and train stop all had to be given a certain percentage of the supplies before individual retail.

I didn't expect to be able to sell anything. This is a sweeter deal than I thought. Maybe this is a bribe. Emerald's the one who makes the call though. Either way we can make a quick buck.

The only inn the aera was the The Golden Goose. Most travelers were military gaurd and stayed in the barracks by the train station. It was supossed to be run by a young woman who often catered to Hunters and Huntresses passing through. I guess Mrs. Rosa never thought we were just some transporters. That or she saw the festival.

If anyone here saw the final battle, we're toast. I guess that a guy with his leg broken by a Dust shot walking around in Vale when he's supposed to be in Mystral would be much more suspicious than a guy with a common last name.

They all seemed blissfully unaware of it. At least the guy, Malcom, was normal when he directed us where to land the Bullhead. Apparently the area jus outside the water tower was used for early morning drills. After that we had to grab our bags and lock the Bullhead.

Emerald and I would have to eat in the inn. We walked down the dirt path in silence. It was the right kind of silence at least. The wind didn't pick up until we passed a few farms. We by the time everything was wrapped up it was getting late.

The Golden Goose was easy to spot. Two story and wide, perfect for housing lots of weary travelers. Emerald and I walked in. A brunette with braids looked up from washing the tables.

"Hello, my name's Brigette Geld. I'm the proprietress here at the Golden Goose. What would you like this evening?" she asked smiling.

The innkeep quickly went to the kitchen as we read the menu. Everthing was a daily item kind of thing. Some of it was vegitarian, most of it was meat. Since it was all in town though it was a lot cheaper than most places. A hunk of lamb for only a few lien.

"One lambchop casserole and one serving of chicken soup with rice," Emerald said.

"I see, and what rooms would you like? We have sunrise, sunset, lake, and forest views," Brigette called out to us while moving our food from the pan onto the plate.

"We only need one room." Bridgette looked at us, scandalized.

An old man piped up from a corner table, "Why?"

"It's... a Hunter thing," I replied akwardly.

He nodded to himself before speaking to Bridgette. "Leave 'em be Bridgette. I know what it's like to be fresh out of Beacon with a teammate. Those bonds don't go away overnight. Heck, they rarely go away at all."

She served us our food a with a little more dignity than she'd have done previously, I'm sure. We ate, paid half of our room and all of our meal, got our key, then went to the room. Bathroom, square window, black-out curtains. This is what a hotel should look like.

Emerald and I dumped our bags by the door and fell onto the bed. Then it all went black.

* * *

The mice could not quiet tell,

If in this new place all was well.

* * *

 **Since no one participated in the false names contest, they're going to just use their regular names. Are you guys even intrested in this sort of thing? I don't want to write what isn't being read or waste the time of the people who do read author's notes. I'm not going to compromise on the plot, but I am willing to put things in that stem from your ideas.**

 **What I will say is that it's now a competition to be the first who guesses this town's naming rule! That's something that's one hundred percent a RWBY fandom thing! Show your pride my peeps!**

 **Butterfly Crown ~ Over and Out!**


	10. Chapter 9

**Hello.I would first like to thank all of the people who reviewed starting with cinderhasfallen, guest:Andrew, claraowl, Darker Paths, and fanaticalParadox. Thank you for putting this on you favorites list 7266aa, Brooke Vengeance, Pearl Darkness, Shade1727, Stormy Trix, cinderhasfallen, claraowl, and fanaticalParadox.  
**

 **Thank you for reviewing Darker Paths. Yes I do have a plan. The chapter in question was really just to show more of Emerald's growing doubts in Cinder now that she's acquired a newfound distance from that toxic relationship, her and Mercury's relationship and about how having sex with each other haven't crossed their minds as a thing that would actually happen, and to keep up continuity by hearing about Mercury's games and his facet of escapism. Sorry for everyone who was so confused. I guess that was a bigger risk than I thought as it alienated, you, the reader. The naming contest was something that I had posted with the first few chapters to see if people wanted their code names to vary on location although I didn't specify that. It wasn't a poll, just a way for everyone to feel more involved with the story. If you have a specific idea as to what this is then please write it. If this story isn't it I don't want to lead you on, even if you're one of the most consistent reviewers with constructive feedback.  
**

 **I'm glad you look forward to this so much fanaticalParodox. It makes my day to see that you're so invested in the story, even though I can have it devolve into silliness sometimes. I now have an actual computer at my disposal, so the quality of the story will go even higher. Thank you for having faith in me. I know that many people don't update consistently and this is one story where I don't want that to happen.**

 **Now that that's cleared up, onto the story.**

 **Chapter 9: Re-awake; Shake**

I do not want to get up today. This bed is the comfiest thing that I've slept for weeks. This room is the nicest I've slept in in weeks. No shared bathrooms. I those are the three words I've wanted to hear most. I don't want to go back to the Bullhead or Fence. I want indoor plumbing and no more shitty mattress on the ground or operating table in the corner.

Stop thinking about it. Stop thinking about it. He's dead. It's gone. There's no more house; there's no more him. There's no more any of the shit that went on in there. This is the real world now. That isn't real anymore. It isn't real. It isn't real. It isn't real. It isn't real. It isn't real. It isn't real. It isn't real.

* * *

I woke up with Mercury sweating, shaking and gripping me with a vice. Shit. Did he take his meds last night? I started struggling against him. Damn, why did I agree to this?

"Merc. Merc. Merc wake up!" I whispered. I tore out his arms. He started writhing around. I sunk my nails into his arm. Mercury shot up.

"Emerald?" he asked. His eyes didn't register me. He was still in panic mode. I let go of his arm.

"Yes. It's me. Merc. It's me." The look faded. I had moved sort of up onto my knees. We kind of stayed there for a while. It was awkward, Ursa in the room awkward. I was still kind of on the pillow and he was hunched over. Not exactly best way to start a conversation, but moving might make things worse.

"Merc-"

"I don't want to talk about it." I didn't even-blagh. So much for this place being an improvement over Fence. Then again, Timber had a pretty hard act to follow. Fence had a nice innkeeper, a nice chief, and no dumb-ass guards making our lives difficult. I wonder if we even could sell anything. Life is shit here.

I took a breath and thought about the only problem I might be able to fix, Merc's meds. It's pretty obvious when he hasn't taken them for a while. We'll need to get them somehow. I don't know if the doctor of any of our boxes have any of Merc's. If it's in the boxes we can't just sneak them out and stealing in this town might mean that we'd need a prosthetic each.

I reentered the case. If I can't get Merc to admit that he needs them I'm not going to get him to do anything about it. We'll be able to make it back in two day's if we leave now. I guess the quarter of a day that it would take and the amount of money it would cost would be worth it if it shaved off weight and time. I just need to know how bad it is right now. I don't want to put him in the storage. The last time that happened it was hell.

"Merc, how long has it been since you've take your meds?" I asked softly.

"Few days." Curt and no eye contact. That's pretty much what I expected.

"We're going back to Fence. This place is practically an Atlas outpost," I said with a hollow laugh.

"We're staying." He didn't look at me. My head whipped up.

"We're going," I said. My face probably was scrunched up into something not nice.

"Staying," he replied blankly. Yup. My face wasn't in a way that I'd want put on a camera. Fuck it.

"Merc, it's not like they're not going to just give you a prescription here! They aren't going to give you anything without knowing why; That's life for us, and these assholes don't deserve to know the why of anything! We're going back to Fence!" I said. That should have decided it.

"I'll show them it then."

"No! Merc, no one knows right now," I growled.

"And if it crawls up on the way back? We're screwed. I'm showing them. We're finishing the delivery, putting the food in Fence, taking the Bullhead, and finding Cinder. Never going to see this place again. It. Does. Not. Matter." Steel gray eyes met mine.

I stayed there squatting, shaking with anger. Of course it fucking matters you idiot. I've never see you wear shorts, even if it was hotter than the sun midday summer in Vaccuo. No sandals, no shorts, no way does it not matter. Fuck you Mercury. Fuck you.

My stomach decided that moment was the one to tell the world that I was hungry. Stupid stomach, why aren't you used to it? One year of going to sleep with a full belly and you can't go a day without breakfast. There's no way to really make an argument after showing weakness. Stupid stomach.

* * *

Emerald woke me up. The dream didn't fade. It just got put into a different part of my mind. I convinced Emerald to let us just get meds here. The only reason my argument worked was because her stomach growled. Honestly, it's not like they're going to deny meds to a person who needs them to function. The mayor seems like she can't look away from someone in need. She's supplying food to an illegal port because of her conscious. I think she's allowed to do it because she's a former Huntress.

We straightened up our clothes. No need for the bitchy innkeeper to give us a dirty look at breakfast. You'd think that someone who lives in Vale, famous for it's hospitality, would be a little better with dealing with people. Then again, Emerald did have point with the Atlas comment. Must be the excess of soldiers from Atlas that were in for the Festival security.

Maybe that Malcolm asshole will get on a train for Atlas and never come back. Wait, why do I even care? We're not coming back here. This is just a quick way to get some cash before we find Cinder and get back to the plan. I left the room first. I knew Emerald would follow for food.

We ate breakfast with minimal hassle. I guess the brunette got the memo to not act like your guests are cockroaches. We ordered a lot of bacon and eggs. I'm not sure what she put in her glass though. It looked kind of gross. Grape, orange, and apple juice should not be mixed. I thought that we were trying not to piss off the innkeeper. She gave Emerald the dirtiest look that I've ever seen a little hill-billy with braids has ever given.

Then we left, went to the Bullhead, made the delivery to the train stop, and landed at the med bay after the storage center trip was done. I wasn't allowed to pilot. Emerald didn't want to take any chances in case I started hallucinating. It freaks me out. I understand how to get past Emerald's semblance, but when my own mind starts making me see things that aren't there it gets under my skin.

A bell rang as we walked in. Looks like Emerald won't be able to press any bells today. She really likes doing that. I saw her walk into at least three bookstores before she picked that old dust store manager's wallet and every time she couldn't help but press a bell. Why does she feel the need? Eh, the medic at least walked into the room with a crooked nametag.

And messy hair. And an embarrassed woman. Well then. They're both adults. Their dumb decision to screw in an office. I really don't mind what people do in their down time so long as they do it when I'm not around to see it or the after affects. Then again, office sex makes me wonder how reliable this guy is. He escorted the woman out the side door. Matching rings. Even when people are married they can still think that having sex in the office is a good idea. I'm scared for their progeny.

"Hello, my name's Dr. Schwartz. I'm sorry you had to see that. How can I help you?" he asked with an emphasis on professional behavior. He kind of screwed that up already.

"We need this," Emerald said, handing him a list of meds.

He took one glance at it and said, "No. Can't give you this. Find a dealer in Fence."

Fuck why did I do this? Mind over matter, Mercury. Mind over matter, Mercury. Your mind takes precedence over dumb shit like pride. Just lift up the pant leg. Don't be wuss. Don't let them see it gets to you. Don't let them see it. Oh, fuck it all.

* * *

The mice could not help but shake,

As old fears begin to re-awake.

* * *

 **Just so that everyone's re-aware. This story deals with Emerald Sustrai and Mercury Black, two of the most messed up character's in RWBY. They aren't going to stay happy for too long no matter where they go because one of them grew up on the streets and is easily lured into fucked up relationships, and the other has childhood trauma from living with a psycho who cut off his legs. Sex jokes are in the minority and problems abound. I only hope you realized what you were getting into with these two at the helm because you are going to enter a psychological shit storm.**


	11. Chapter 10

**Hello all of my peoples? What is good in the hood? Awnser: Nothing. All of her teammates are scattered to the winds, one of her close friends died in front of her eyes, and she has a power that she could save everyone else she loves but that she doesn't have the least bit control over. They needed a spin off series to keep people from rioting. Anyways, onto the thank yous.**

 **I'd like to thank the people who have followed Her Guard Dog first today, so thank you 7Artemis7, 7266aa, Allycat826, Brooke Vengeance, ChimaTigon, Darkerpaths, KyranKandosa, MarkAntimony, Pearl Darkness, Raven Bishop, Stormy Trix, The Dude Strikes Back, anarchopunk, cinderhasfallen, claraowl, fanaticalParadox, idleIdiot, iliketacoslikealot, and sterling visions. Thank you for putting it on your favorite's list 7266aa, Brooke Vengeance, ChimaTigon, Pearl Darkness, Shade 1727, Stormy Trix, cinderhasfallen, claraowl, fanaticalParadox, and idleIdiot. And for one of the most meaningful gestures, thank you fanaticalParadox, DarkerPaths, claraowl, cinderhasfallen, Gravenimage, Guest: Andrew for reviewing. I also am thanking every person who has read this that does not name themselves. **

**Away from thank you's, I just watched the World of Remnants that was in regards to the individual kingdoms! The city-states have been confirmed as having multiple towns in their territory that seem to work on a common cultural thread. Also this means that nearly all of the criminals must be from Mistral as it's known for it's culture and black market. I can't wait for the 22nd! Either way it invalidates all of the towns in the story. Thus it must be canon divergent from here on out. Sorry to lose that realism that was prevalent during the hiatus, but I think that everyone's going to be on the edge of their seat to watch what happens in the show. That makes it a fair trade, right?**

 **Chapter 10: Mice and Memories**

I started walking out the door. Screw this place. Fuck that doctor that was just fucking his wife in the back room. I'll deal with this myself. I'm not too good at making it stable myself, but I know the compound. Every Hunter with a prosthetic knows the compound. I opened the door. Fucking bell.

"Wait," he said. I turned around, about to shove my foot up his ass and fire when I saw his expression. Curiosity. Focus. Deep thought. Things a doctor should have.

"How long, how extensive, and what disease caused you to get prosthetic legs? Polio? Progressive spinalbulbar muscular atrophy?" he asked.

Finally he sounds like he knows what he's doing. Vale's farming hub must have someone more than just a hedge-doctor. I closed the door and turned around to lean on it. Emerald decided to help by staring at him. The better he does under pressure the more that I can trust he knows what he's doing.

"Two years. Kneecaps included. No disease. Farming equipment accident in Mistral," I responded. He swore.

"A farming equipment accident? With that much of the leg gone? How did you not die of blood loss or go into shock?! It's rare to find someone with the qualifications or understanding to do that kind of surgery, even in Atlas. You aren't that kid Mikey was talking about were you?" he stared mumbling to himself more than us, "No, you're too old. Damn. You're going to need more than just the regular compound. Sleeping pills, painkillers, maybe up the anti-hallucinogenics?"

The doctor shook himself slightly. His tie became more crooked. This guy cannot stay neat. Maybe that's why he gets away with having sex in the office, no one would be able to tell the difference. When he opened his mouth is when I started hating him again.

"Don't leave, you shouldn't be anywhere near machinery handling. It's weaponized right? You look like a Hunter. Let me guess, probably had to quit your farm after the surgery right after quitting prep school for Beacon or Haven because of the economy or a bad harvest. Then you were stuck with two legs, a mountain load or debt and no prospects to pay it off. Then comes in a benefactor or scholarship deal and you're rolling in the dough from government funding, since the military and police are more a precaution against smuggling or other low key crimes. Just when everything's going well, you're in a kingdom overrun by Grimm that's also being attacked by Atlas who are in your fucking town instead of their own damn country with no way to contact your government, and there's a possibility of takeover which would jeopardize everything that the place you live stands for," his mumbling had taken a weirdly accurate and dark turn.

Looks like things aren't all roses in Timber. Even with a name like Schwartz he doesn't seem too happy about Atlas being here. Maybe he's from Mantel. Either way he seems to be an quickly turned pawn if Cinder wants to take this place down. It seems just like something she'd be wanting to do. Right now though, my orders come from Emerald, and she hasn't said anything decisive about it one way or the other.

He moved to the back room and started to create a compound. No others with prosthetics in Fence then. Everyone has just what they need to live a nice and cozy life. You can have the respect of the towns people, a steady job with a good income, and a wife who doesn't mind screwing in the office. All you have to do is navigate between Atlas and Vale jurisdiction laws and everything's golden.

Would this town be all that special to destroy? I don't think I'd get all that much satisfaction out of it. There isn't any way to strike fear into others by association with the massacre and burning of a town no one knows about. It's an isolated town that wouldn't serve our purposes with Vale already being disrupted. Vale's broken enough already, it couldn't help the other kingdoms even if it wanted to.

I snapped out of my freaking useless analysis of Cinder's motives. I'm a mercenary. It's what I know. I'm the guard not the merchant. It doesn't matter what I'm doing right now. It's a cover; it's only temporary. Just like this fucking headache. I'll take my meds, and then it will go away.

The doctor tells me to take them down the with a little bit of water. Heh. A little bit of water is all it'd take to make my legs malfunction. I need a bit of nasty tasting water to keep me from dying but submerge me in the pure stuff, and I'm a goner. Emerald passed me her water bottle. That's rare. She doesn't like to share anything that she puts in her mouth. It doesn't seem like there's any running water in this place though. I guess she figured that out just as usual.

I had the pills and powder in my right hand. The water in my right. Emerald won't talk to me if I contaminate her water bottle with this stuff. I shoved the meds in my mouth and held my hand there. Dr. Schwartz was in shock while Emerald remained unfazed. I brought the water bottle close to my lips then gulped it down.

I walked out of the med bay, Emerald trailing behind. Usually it's the opposite. The days my prescription gets filled always changes the rhythm of things. I always know my standing on days like today. The people around me acknowledge that I need something. They wait until my need has been met. Then the needs of the group or employer take precedence over individual discomforts. The parts for my legs come out of my paycheck, and Emerald's huge breakfasts come from her wallet normally.

I don't really care all that much what happens to the rest of the world. People in Vacuo are are as disordered as people in Mistral without the class struggles. Atlas is full of a bunch of bastards that'd abandon their own and put other's through impressment, and Vale is full of morons. Whether they live and thrive, or decay and die is up to the employer and the kingdom's own whim. I'm just the mercenary that kills for a paycheck.

* * *

I swear I just met Merc's half brother. Same switch, same passive aggressive attitude, same type in women. His wife looked just like the pin-ups I'd seen on Merc's scroll. It's kind of freaking me out how similar they are. I guess I can't complain though, Merc got his prescription, even though it took a while.

There's four rooms here, not including the cellar. The lobby where Mercury and I were in the entire time, the doctor's office, the pharmacy, and the visiting area. It's set up to reduce the chances of loss of life during a Grimm attack. The cellar's deep too, I can tell from the sound's Schwartz's footsteps are making. That's probably the storage place for most of the bandages and other medical things.

I keep thinking like a street thief. Where is everything? How can I avoid getting caught? I should know better! It's more profitable to not get in a fight than get in one yes, but it's even better to convince the person to willingly give you what you want. Cinder taught me that you could do that without having to resort to any kind of semblance.

Everyone in Timber's so observant and nosy. You can't give them a lie. It won't check with any of the other's stories. I miss being in Mistral. You could leave and if you didn't make anybody too powerful angry no one would care. No one would come after you. No constantly being trailed. Sure there's the White Fang chapter gaining more of a following, but beyond that it's easy to disappear.

Then again, I'm sure none of those people really thought that a simple idea of innocence and a network failure could change your possible standing. A bad person whose committed genocide could be thought innocent. A petty thief can turn into a merchant-transporter. I'm also sure that it can happen the other way around though. You make your own luck, and I have a history of using terrible materials.

* * *

The rest of the day went a lot better than this morning did. After the meds were in the system I functioned a lot better. Our deliveries were made and we set up shop in what I guess was the center of the town. Emerald greeted the customers while I set up the tarp overhead. We sold a lot more than predicted. Lots of people wanted to stock up on the basics.

Those with children bought box after box of band aids. The sick bought cold and allergy medication. Everyone bought disinfectant, latex gloves, tape, light bulbs and condoms. Turns out the whole town is full of horny people. They were our best selling item. I guess you do make a better dealer if you don't use the item you're selling.

* * *

Do mice, and memories, and mirth

truly have little worth?

* * *

 **Hedge doctor is a combination of hedge witch and witch doctor. It takes out the witchcraft part of it and focuses on natural remedies and designates that they don't have much if any formal training. I'm not sure if it's used outside of my area though, so I thought it would only be right to explain that. Where I come from anyone without formal training but can deliver results is called a hedge-professional. Considering that Timber has to be prepared in case of a lack of shipments due to emergencies I thought that this kind of person would be more likely to show up than an elitist.**

 **Also I think it's ok to deliberately misspell something in a name, even if it's a color. There's lots of variations of normal names like Catherine, Cathryn, Katherine, and Kathryn or Rhodes, Roades, Roads, and Rhods. That should make it alright to for color based names to be up to interpretation like Silver or Sylvir as long as the root isn't in question.**


	12. Chapter 11

**First I'd like to give a big fuck you to the Roosterteeth advertising executives. Wait for it, FUCK YOU ROOSTERTEETH. Why the did the creators neglect to mention a few months ago that the 22nd was only for Roosterteeth First members? I was so excited and then I had to wait a week for season 4 episode 1. Ironically, even Roosterteeth First members didn't get it on time, apparently we became a DDOS by accident. Either way it smacked this story so far into crack space that this is now completely canon divergent. On the other hand the fact that Emerald and Mercury are having serious doubts based on season 4 episode 1 means that they are at least somewhat in character. I still need you guys to keep me honest, unlike Neo and Torchwick.**

 **I'd like to thank the people who have followed Her Guard Dog first today, so thank you 7Artemis7, 7266aa, Allycat826, Brooke Vengeance, ChimaTigon, Darkerpaths, KyranKandosa, MarkAntimony, Pearl Darkness, Raven Bishop, Stormy Trix, The Dude Strikes Back, anarchopunk, cinderhasfallen, claraowl, fanaticalParadox, idleIdiot, iliketacoslikealot, and sterling visions. Thank you for putting it on your favorite's list 7266aa, Brooke Vengeance, ChimaTigon, Pearl Darkness, Shade 1727, Stormy Trix, cinderhasfallen, claraowl, fanaticalParadox, and idleIdiot. And for one of the most meaningful gestures, thank you fanaticalParadox, DarkerPaths, claraowl, cinderhasfallen, Gravenimage, Guest: Andrew for reviewing. I also am thanking every person who has read this that does not name themselves.**

 **Also I'd like to say that this chapter has male masturbation in it. If this makes you uncomfortable then please, by all means leave. If you are pure of heart, how did you survive the RWBY volume 3 finale? I want to know to ease my own broken heart. If you've read this far into the story then you're no longer pure of eyes so telling you to get lost is a waste of time. Also this is a test run for the sex scenes in general. They'd be different with two people, obviously, but tell me anything you guys think would improve those parts.**

 **Chapter 11: Never Ever Tell**

I guess it'd have to happen sooner or later when living without Cinder. An after diner bath with one of us waiting on the bed. Despite being able to put so much away Emerald got back to the room first and got to be first in the shower. She promised after she locked the door that when she got out she'd begin working on the and balancing the books. I don't think that we made a huge profit.

Another stipulation of our contract is that while we may sell goods we have to stay within a certain price range. It limits our profits by a good amount. Emerald probably picked up some information to make up for the loss.

I thought about the shower itself. It seems like a good idea to put all of the plumbing in the same room, but what's with the weird way hotels do it. They try and make it look fancy, but skimp out on space. Also why do they always put soap in a box? What happens if it gets wet before someone uses it? What if no one noticed it and it got moldy? That would just be a waste of soap. Is Emerald already?

No. Stop thinking. Start doing reps. 50 sit ups. Now. Go to the middle of the room. Get into shape.

1\. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. This shit isn't working. Emerald's in there. Her hands on herself. Fuck. Now I'm just sweaty, worked up and thinking about how good Emerald looks wet. Uh. I'm royally fucked now.

I slid across the room and put my head against the door. I can hear the water in there. I can picture her in there, hair loose for once, everything clinging to her body. I slide my pants down. Next comes my boxers. It's out. Up down. Pretend you're in there. Pretend it's you you've heard her call out to at night. Up down. Close your eyes Mercury. Pretend you're not disgusting.

Water all around you. You've got real legs. She's impressed. She starts with the usual routine. A quick peck on the lips. Her hands are trying to find my hair. Minx. Up down. Up down. Little bit of spit. Emerald. In there. Dazed. Wide eyed. So damn close. Water. Her. Against the wall. She looks lewd. Up, down.

Done.

* * *

The shower in this place is great. It's clean, a good distance from the toilet, and has enough space to lay in the bath if you want to. That'd take work though. Undoing my hair ties is enough work for me. I just want hot water as soon as possible. I peeled off my clothes and grabbed a towel from beneath the sink while the water heated up.

I put the curtain between me and the water and put my hand under it. It nearly burned. I slipped inside the shower. The water beat down on me. I tilted by head back and sighed in relief. This is glorious. I undid the soap box. Fancy having a soap box way out here and separate shampoo and conditioner out here. I washed my hair, then the rest of my body. After that I used up more than my fair share of hot water standing under the torrent.

I really don't like being a merchant. I'm good at it, but it feels like a lie. Everyone smiles at me, and I have to smile back. They walk around outside the walls and despite the CCT being down life goes on. Life shouldn't just go on. In Fence almost everyone left. I only saw about thirty people, maybe forty if I count the people in Dr. Orchid's care. That place could easily handle around three hundred if the outer wall apartments were used with everything else, without even factoring how deep those caves might go.

From three hundred to thirty able bodied residents in the space of a single day. That's what should be happening. Must be the flaw in Cinder's plan. The cities rely on towns like these that could disappear in a instance. Many of them do, but enough of them don't. Given time these towns could turn into their own cities. It takes a lot of effort, but it can be done.

We aren't going to really change too much by destroying the cities. Different ones would take their place, and towns likes this one don't need them with the understanding that they can go on their own. Mistral has a high concentration of outlaws, and Vaccuo and Vale lack a centralized government who can effectively act. Atlas is corrupting itself with the drafting of Hunters and Huntresses into the military. Then these outlying towns with less prejudice would become the norm once the kingdom headquarters were down.

It's a cycle. I never thought about it when I was on the streets, but it is. Authority will never be gone. Cinder answers to her teacher, and Mercury and I answer to Cinder. That's also an inflexible hierarchy. I turned off the water.

And here I was trying to relax before paperwork. I haven't even been able to sit down and read for over a week now. Hygiene comes first. I stepped out of the tub and grabbed the towel I left on the toilet seat. I put up my hair in one towel and started drying off with another one. Wait, did I remember to bring a change of clothes in here with me?

Ugh. This is going to be awkward. I don't think I've been in a room with Mercury without underwear. I show a lot off to be gin with so it's not like it's the skin that'd be the problem.

* * *

Shit. She's getting out. Pants on. Fly up. Whip your hands on the inside of your pants. Get away from the door as quietly as possible. Nothing will prevent you from getting your ass kicked if she realized what you just did. Stupid, stupid Mercury. You just had to get your rocks off before you got a locked room. You downloaded video games for this! Just keep your damn scroll on a charger and shit like this. Just pretend there's another reason why she'd smell chlorine.

She came out in a towel. What the fuck? Oh, her clothes are out here on the bed, nicely folded. Even Emerald screws up the simple stuff. I grabbed my own clothes quickly.

"Forgot something?" I smirked. Emerald swatted me.

I went into the bathroom with a mocking laugh. I closed and locked the door. I let my head loll back. I'm still panting. Damn. That was quicker than the other times. I've got to use someone else's face. Emerald's the only one who hasn't treated me any differently though. She saw me right after the bastard took my legs, and she wasn't even fazed. Couldn't even pay whore in Mistral to pretend to be like that. Either way all this sweat isn't good for my parts.

I grabbed three hand towels, stripped, pushed the shower curtains out of the way, changed the nozzle from shower to tub, and sat on the edge of the tub. I wrapped two of the towels around my kneecaps, and wet the last one under the faucet and low power. Then I rubbed the soap into the towel and started getting myself clean. First the arms, then the torso, then the back, stubs for last. I changed it to shower mode and dumped the shampoo and conditioner into my hand and started on that.

Rinsed it off. No more smell on me. Laundry's gonna suck though. We didn't bring an extra duffel. Do they have machines here? It's gonna be pretty hard to explain the white streak in my all grey pants to the local washerwoman when we have to ask for permission to use her board. I bundled them up into a large pile and left it there until I got dressed. I breezed through the room.

"I'm going to bed early," I lied.

"Just don't hog the covers like you usually do," Emerald responded with her eyes still on the paperwork. At least she keeps her promises. The unwritten rule with roommates is to not use their faces as a way to get off. I sank beneath the covers. These sheets are really fluffy. I purposefully left only the slightest bit for Emerald to be able to crawl under.

If she can get through that then she'll have plenty of covers. I waited for her to crawl under them. It took about a hour and a half for her to finally come. She wriggled under the covers. Just the understanding of her weight distribution made it hard for me to not laugh.

"You're terrible at pretending to sleep Mercury," she murmured before cozying up for the night.

Minx.

* * *

Carrying a broken tail and a sad tale,

One that particular mice might never ever tell.

* * *

 **I guess I just can't help but think that Mercury would get these kind of pointless tangents going in his head if he didn't distract himself. "Why does soap come in a box in hotels? Ah, fuck it. Let's just masturbate." That sums up how I wrote Mercury this time around. Thank you Panty and Stocking with Garterbelt Soundtrack. You were a wonderful aid in this. I can't help but think that it's interesting to write a guy who has body image issues for once. Is that a terrible thing?**


	13. Chapter 12

**I'm sorry this is so late. I got sick. Then it was three hours into the trip to my Grandma's for Thanksgiving, and I realize I left my computer at home. I promise that next week will also have a chapter so that the schedule will be back on track afterwords. Just to give you and idea of what that means, she lives in a fly over state. It was a 16 hour round trip in the car.**

 **Darker Paths thank you for the review. I guess I just don't really understand male masturbation and am too worried about my computer to try watching porn. I finally figured out that there was a free membership space. Why'd they put it right next to the paid subscriptions? Yay, I can now watch more RWBY. If they had changed it to pay-to-play membership only that would have really sucked. It still should have been explained at the beginning that First Members were the only ones who got to see it on the 22nd. That was still a huge bust and caused a lot of trouble for everyone since it wasn't made clear.**

 **I'm using what I'll call Ao3 guidelines for this story. Ao3 has a G-E system instead of the G-M system that uses. The main difference between M and E at Ao3 is that, when it comes to sex, M is more on the range between making love, one night stands, and sex, while E is all of the in depth kinky, what's consent, maybe disturbing stuff. Theme wise they can both handle trauma well, it's just that they approach it in different ways. Granted if you're into just sex either one can have good stories in them.**

 **I'd like to thank the people who have followed Her Guard Dog first today, so thank you 7Artemis7, 7266aa, Allycat826, Brooke Vengeance, ChimaTigon, Cpt. Lynx, Darkerpaths, KyranKandosa, MarkAntimony, Pearl Darkness, Raven Bishop, Stormy Trix, The Dude Strikes Back, anarchopunk, cinderhasfallen, claraowl, fanaticalParadox, idleIdiot, iliketacoslikealot, and sterling visions. Thank you for putting it on your favorite's list 7266aa, Brooke Vengeance, ChimaTigon, Pearl Darkness, Shade 1727, Stormy Trix, cinderhasfallen, claraowl, fanaticalParadox, and idleIdiot. And for one of the most meaningful gestures, thank you fanaticalParadox, DarkerPaths, claraowl, cinderhasfallen, Gravenimage, Guest: Andrew for reviewing. I also am thanking every person who has read this that does not name themselves.**

 **Chapter 12: Do Not Mix**

I woke up and knew today would be bad. Emerald's sleeping facing me for once. I hope that she doesn't make a habit of it. It's really hard to stop staring. It's still dark outside. She shouldn't wake up soon. Who would mind if Emerald didn't realize anything? My hand started straying towards her face when I heard footsteps.

Cinder. She's coming. I've got to get out of the bed and away from Emerald before she finds me. If she finds me like this I'm dead. Someone else will clean up the body. Probably Emerald. Get out of this room, window. She's at the door so get out through the window. The sill's on the other side of the headboard. Use arms. Open it, slowly. It'll be colder in the ground if you caught be Cinder in Emerald's room.

Scout the perimeter. If you do that unbidden Cinder won't question you about it. She'll just think you were on duty. Get down from the roof and.. Wait. Cinder never sets us up in anything under three stories unless it's off the ground to begin with. I'm such a fucking idiot.

I sat there sitting on the roof for a while. I felt like an idiot. I know she's probably alive. Why did that happen with Cinder though? I've never panicked that bad unless it was about my old man before. What's really so wrong about her never coming back? Aside from the fact that Emerald would split the moment it was confirmed. Then I'm just a guy with no social skills, prosthetic legs, and a tendency to lash out.

With the transporter job, it's clear that other search and destroy jobs on the route are up for grabs as well. There's no binding contract against making some side money. Emerald got to check the perimeter last time. She also got rid off her aggression with the Beowulf pack before we got here. This doesn't make the idea of it lasting any less pointless.

I fiddled around with the stuff on the side table. Ammo package, Emerald's hair ties, wallet, a-nd Bullhead keys. Might as clean up shop. And find a place to hide my things that I don't want Emerald finding. Maybe if I made a laundry basket she wouldn't look to closely at the contents. I haven't tried looking for hidden compartments either. Any more storage space is welcome. I should also probably make sure that she doesn't make me go broke and take my wallet.

I jumped off of the roof. It's about thirty minutes to an hour before the sun rises. I wonder if she'll bring me breakfast.

* * *

I woke up with the bed next to me really cold. Weird. Why's the window open? It's freezing outside. Maybe I was just tired from doing all of paperwork. I have a feeling that Orchid and Sirona wouldn't be so nice to us if we were lax in record keeping. I know that Cinder'd kill me if I failed to report something of interest. Most of the cargo hold's empty, but there's still a few things we can sell for a little more food room.

Where is Mercury? I've never woken up him without him. I checked the bathroom just to make sure. It's at times like these I wish I had radar instead of manipulation. It's not like I can use my semblance without being able to look directly at someone and even then I can't control all of the irregularities.

It's fall, so what keeps longest? Celery, cabbage, garlic, onions, potatoes, beats, apples. I wonder if some of those are better in the fall. I'll have to ask around, there's also a lot of orchards. I know the ocean's literally on Fence's doorstep. Maybe if there's another trip I can get some salted fish or maybe just some salt from the seaside. They probably want me to focus on helping the injured people recover.

I probably need to help them. For karma and all that. Either way thinking about food made me hungry. I fumbled around on the bed stand, then looked under it. He took the wallet. I didn't want to use the money from the sales for food just yet. We still need to buy in bulk for Fence. Either way I straightened my clothes, fixed my hair and went downstairs.

I walked over to the bar. It's a tavern and an inn, so she's got have breakfast. I walked up to the bar and stumbled into a conversation I did not want to be in the middle of. One of yesterday's customers, Brün Leitsch, was talking to her about sex, otherwise known as the condoms we sold him for him and his boyfriend to use. From what little I know of Betty, I can tell that she's a grade-A prude. Then she spots me.

"It's wrong to sell contraception. Messing around with nature will do no good in the end." Ugh, she's that type.

I really hope I can figure out some other kind of living arrangement if we're still around when it gets cold. I don't think it's a good idea to be in the Bullhead once Winter comes. If we're trying to find Cinder it's likely going to take until the middle of winter if not later. She's probably going to find us first. It's stupid to think that she'd leave a trail, and everyone in this village and Fence knows our names. She's going to find us in no time.

"Don't think of it as contraception, think of it as guilt-free sex in stressful times. No one wants Grimm. Grimm are attracted to bad thoughts. Stress is bad. Stress can come from thinking too hard about things like sex." I had finally gotten everything I wanted on my plate by the time that I finished selling my mentality to her. I glanced up. Looks like it didn't take. Is it wrong to want to laugh?

Her mouth's just hanging open, and she's staring at me like I said pigs can fly or bullshit just fell out of my mouth. I start eating my food. Sausages first. Might as well see if she's a prude with a dirty mind. Yep, one blush confirms that. It's fun to mess with people. I dove into my pancakes and moved the toast to the other side of the plate.

"Hey, Brün. Has Mercury already eaten breakfast?" I asked casually before downing a glass of milk.

He raised an eyebrow at me before answering, "No not yet. Say doll, he didn't leave you lonely last night did he? I thought you two were close."

"Not last night, that's for sure. He was gone before I woke up though. Merc's a work-a-holic. Sometimes he forgets to eat." The lie came so easily. Now to see if I'm still in practice.

"And you make up for that?" He laughed, shook the whole table.

He's pretty much a big bear. I'm glad. He fell for my lie. I'm not out of practice. I pretend to blush and say yes. He responds to my question with a definite no. I pay the tab, grab the toast, and head out to the Bullhead. It's the first and last place I'm looking for him. If he's not there then I'm going to eat it.

* * *

Ok. Bullhead's unlocked, and the cargo's set up for Emerald auction the last of it off. Mostly just bandages, jars and some other things you can't really get by being in the middle of no where. At least they a separate weapons forge. With all of the farms though it's no wonder they hire foreign defense. While I'm guessing there's a couple of retired Huntsmen and Huntress running the show, most Hunters prefer Patch or other secluded places so that they can have a safe place for their kids.

I'm putting two-hundred people here with around fifty natives with the ability to fight Grimm. No wonder Atlas is so, what's the word, prevalent here. There doesn't seem to be that many natural defenses either. I'm guessing they're hiding a few things though. Fence claimed it was there for twenty years, and you can't get this many buildings up in one year. I stared a certain garden.

Orchards and orchids in a farming town mean a hidden fighting town. Good to know that sell guilt free sex to strangers means that they'll live long enough to regret not having enough people to man the walls. Got to love the irony of everything. People are born in one place, and, unless they're adventurous, they stay in that place their whole lives. Adventure and thrill seekers are attracted to mercenary work, and once the money runs out mercenaries leave. It doesn't matter if you call them assassins or Hunters.

If you don't have money you have to try and protect yourself. You fail or you live to fight again. Wash, rinse, repeat. Sort of like this compartment. I have no idea why this thing doesn't get clean. I've rinsed it out at least ten times now. How much dust buildup can be in a secret compartment that he made himself? Ebony can put up a wall, but he can't clean a room. Wonder how the trip across the sea's been for him and the other passengers.

I guess I can't completely forget about someone when I'm in the middle of their handiwork.

* * *

Glass and winter do not mix,

and the mice have problems with no simple fix.

* * *

 **Ya know, I think I'm going to eventually add a prune farmer who isn't a prude just to contrast to Betty. She's fun to write though.**


	14. Chapter 13

**The schedule is now back on track. I'm sorry for the prior inconvenience. Two weeks from today the next chapter will be out. Cheers.**

 **I'd like to thank the people who have followed Her Guard Dog first today, so thank you 7Artemis7, 7266aa, Allycat826, Brooke Vengeance, ChimaTigon, Cpt. Lynx, CrowingCrow, Darkerpaths, GuiltyLancaster, KyranKandosa, MarkAntimony, Metal Vile, Pearl Darkness, Raven Bishop, Stormy Trix, The Dude Strikes Back, anarchopunk, cinderhasfallen, claraowl, fanaticalParadox, idleIdiot, iliketacoslikealot, and sterling visions. Thank you for putting it on your favorite's list 7266aa, Brooke Vengeance, ChimaTigon, CrowingCrow, GuiltyLancaster, Pearl Darkness, Shade 1727, Stormy Trix, XxClearNoizxX cinderhasfallen, claraowl, fanaticalParadox, and idleIdiot. And for one of the most meaningful gestures, thank you fanaticalParadox, DarkerPaths, claraowl, cinderhasfallen, Gravenimage, Guest: Andrew for reviewing. I also am thanking every person who has read this that does not name themselves.**

 **Chapter 13: Scurry Right and Scurry Left.**

What would have made him go to a Bullhead pilot as a career? He could have gone into construction just as well. Things must be different in Vaccou. Ebony always managed to give off a vibe that you could walk all over him but only if you caught him. That must be why he and Emerald got along so well. She's always pissed when Cinder sends me as back up, and I find her within ten minutes.

Cinder caught Emerald in a honey filled trap. We caught Ebony in a trap of "I'll help you so you'll help me". The only difference between the two of them is that it doesn't look like she's ever going to get out. This is just a job with sweet perks for me. Emerald's in love with our boss, even an idiot like Roman Torchwick would be able to see that. Neo once sent me a Snapchat of a particularly funny filter on. I don't think Emerald's likely to wear a dildo, now Cinder though.

Ugh. That is not a good image now that I think of it. I noticed Emerald in my peripheral vision. Toast for breakfast, and the look of Emerald in one of her modified tops for dessert. One of the few things that Cinder did herself was modify Emerald's clothes for the competition. Since you can't make cloth out of nothing I get to check out Emerald even easier now.

Emerald looked at me strangely before giving me breakfast. She hopped onto the Bullhead while I took a break to eat. She looked at me really judgmentally, doing the pose where all of her weight is on one foot and she's pretending that I don't know that it translates to "I think you're an idiot, and you should know why."

"What? I found a compartment to store more stuff in," I said defensively in between bites. The food was gone too soon.

Emerald started the engine, and I got a face full of soot. This is the exhaust chamber. This is the exhaust chamber of Bullhead that's been from Vale to Vaccuo to where the person in Vaccuo stole it from. This is just one of those days when the universe decides that hey, let's pick on this asshole. Sure he's got a metal leg, but he deserves to have soot in his face just for existing.

"You might want to wash your face. I'll take care off selling the last of the supplies. If you could get information about who has the best crops I'll let this slide. Farm boy." Emerald had a shit eating grin on her face. I returned the favor by tripping her up as she exited the Bullhead. Do unto others as you would do unto yourself, yadda yadda, with great power comes great responsibility, yadda yadda, more inspirational shit that I don't give two fucks about. It was just funny to see her sprawling on the ground. End of story.

* * *

Mercury's an idiot. How did he not recognize the exhaust chamber when he saw it? That's the most basic part of an engine anyone can recognize. It was pretty fun to see his face match his name. Good thing he ate the toast before hand, or it would have gotten sooty and ruined. I'm really glad I'm not facing him right now. I don't think I could stop myself from laughing.

He has metal legs and can't tell an exhaust chamber from a compartment on a Bullhead. Every thief in Mistral knows the parts of a Bullhead in case it's worth scraping. The exhaust chamber is definitely not on that list. It's filled with soot and the occasional unstable non-cartridge Burnt Dust. I know he lived in the mountains but still.

Either way I thought that was punishment enough for leaving the be-window open. It's late fall. I could have caught a cold and then where would we be? No one wants to buy from a sick person. He didn't seem to think so and proceeded to trip when I got off of the Bullhead. I hope that it never comes off. Either way the rest of the supplies were bought by the old butler Mercury and I saw in Ms. Parker's house. I helped him load up the boxes onto his cart. Apparently his family lives on the edge of town. Dangerous. He's employed at the Mayor's residence though, so he can't be completely helpless.

He kind of reminded me of that Dust shop owner in Vale whose pocket I picked. Maybe it's just because they're both old. He also said that he was a former carpenter and now his son-in-law has taken over the business. Vale seems to be an easy going place. Even a little village like this can keep itself going until it has old people move there. It might just have been the power of the Fall Maiden keeping it mostly at bay, superstitious as it is.

My mind can't seem to get away from her lately. At least, the title of the Fall Maiden has been bugging me. Cinder never gave me enough time to think about all of the little things that the Maidens might do. I guess there's a trace of fear and awe to it. Being in Forever Fall while knowing why it's that way. Hundreds of miles that draw off of and boost the power of their Maiden. Without knowing what Cinder's going to do next.

I know what she's capable of. I never thought that I'd ever be a part of the masses again. It's always the masses of people that get slaughtered. Pit a single person alone against a swarm of Grimm, and they'll fight to the death. If it's more than ten without training, it's a lost cause. I know Cinder controls what I think is a large part of it know. Knowing that it's Cinder makes it more on the edge of scary than I would have ever thought.

* * *

Thanks a million for everything Ebony. I really could not be happier that I met you. Really, you've changed my life. You've made me go from guy with prosthetic legs to a guy with prosthetic legs that doesn't know anything about machines. I don't want to show this face to the innkeeper. I walked a half a mile to the river and washed my face in it.

Then I ran into the old man that cleans the Mayor's house. His cart's loaded up with what looks to be the last of the stuff we brought from Fence. He slows his horses to talk to me. It's mostly just making conversation about the weather, but I got in a little knowledge of the crops too. The Leitsch Family runs an orchard and have just finished picking the last of the apples. So far their apple sauce, cider, and juice is going like crazy. They can't make jelly to save their farm though.

A quick walk around town after double checking that my face was clean proved to be a good idea. Three farms grew wheat, and while all of them had their own windmills to get flour from, the one closest to the river had partially flooded, making them desperate to sell. The sugar cane harvest was weak this year, the grapes did decent, and the random growers that pretty much were just subsistence had done pretty well with carrots and onions. Potatoes were grown in bulk on one farm in particular, and cabbages and turnips are on two other smaller farms.

Lots of kale in pretty much every garden though. Even as a last resort to preserve the soil, it seems like a waste. If you're going to try to sell something that tastes like grass, just eat grass. Speaking of eating it's almost lunchtime. I made her pay last time, so I guess that it's only common courtesy that she does so again. After all when I pay she eats well, but when she pays I get toast? It's not fair at all.

Another thing is that the routine winter slaughter won't happen until about ten days from now. They want salt to keep it fresh. Turns out that it's better to have less animals in the winter thanks to the lacking hay harvest. That and everyone wants meat at the solstice celebration. The prices rise and everyone involved gets what they want. Unless you're like how Emerald and I were where no one gave enough of a shit to make sure the solstice meant anything.

I gave Emerald the information, and we braked for lunch after striking a deal or two with some of the larger farms first. By the time that dinner rolled around Emerald and I were dead on our feet. So many people's lives you have to pretend to be interested in. All while keeping a fake smile on your face. Exhausted is an understatement. This was not in my training or original job description.

Either way meat for dinner was a nice change from the vegi soup lunch. I know that people with more of a conscious want to do things like not kill animals or harvest their wool, honey, or whatever. My two cents on the subject is this: I don't give a fuck. I kill people and monsters for a living. I'm not going to become a hypocrite and say that it's wrong to kill. It's not like the animals are treated badly. You don't see cows with metal legs after all.

Animals aren't sentient creatures like humans or Fanus. Life and death isn't that big a deal for them. Cats will eat their owners. Owners can use their pets however they like when they're alive. Kill rats, hunt game, track fugitives, be cute, it doesn't matter. Everyone's still potential food or competition until the moment that they prove useful. It's just how the world works.

I finished dinner and headed upstairs with Emerald. When I open the door she darted in and collapsed on the bed. She took the only pillow as well. I walked in, closed the door and stared down at her disapprovingly.

"Emerald, we can share the pillow. We did it last night. What's the big deal?" I asked annoyed.

"You tripped me up. I deserve the pillow to myself."

"You got my face covered in soot!"

"You left the window open! That means I could have caught a cold and then where would we be?"

"Fine, let's say I go with that logic for a little bit. What the hell am I supposed to sleep on?"

"I don't know."

"You're the one who decided sleeping arrangements."

"Let's not talk about this anymore."

"No, you're the one deciding sleeping arrangements."

"Ugh. Mercury, I'm tired, just come to bed and shut up."

"No. I want access to a pillow."

She grabbed my arm, pulled me down toward her and the next thing I knew.

Boobs.

* * *

Scurry right and scurry left,

The mice worked to make sure their lives were kept.


	15. Chapter 14

**I can't believe that after episode six we're on hiatus for RWBY. It's even a cliffhanger! Noooo!**

 **Thank you Guest or Guests for the new reviews. It means a lot to have feedback. I'm glad that you enjoyed Her Guard Dog so much.**

 **I'd like to thank the people who have followed Her Guard Dog first today, so thank you 7Artemis7, 7266aa, Allycat826, Brooke Vengeance, ChimaTigon, Cpt. Lynx, CrowingCrow, Darkerpaths, GuiltyLancaster, KyranKandosa, MarkAntimony, Metal Vile, Pearl Darkness, Raven Bishop, Stormy Trix, The Dude Strikes Back, anarchopunk, cinderhasfallen, claraowl, fanaticalParadox, idleIdiot, iliketacoslikealot, and sterling visions. Thank you for putting it on your favorite's list 7266aa, Brooke Vengeance, ChimaTigon, CrowingCrow, GuiltyLancaster, Pearl Darkness, Shade 1727, Stormy Trix, XxClearNoizxX cinderhasfallen, claraowl, fanaticalParadox, and idleIdiot. And for one of the most meaningful gestures, thank you fanaticalParadox, DarkerPaths, claraowl, cinderhasfallen, Gravenimage, Guest: Andrew for reviewing. I also am thanking every person who has read this that does not name themselves.**

 **Chapter 14: A 'Hard' Place**

Big, warm, dark, soft, squishy boobs. Pretty much any other woman and this would be the highlight of my day. As it was I couldn't even see the edge of green or white that mean clothes. I thought I heard footsteps outside our door. High heels. Cinder.

I looked up in terror. Emerald was already passed out. Shit. Fuck-shit. She doesn't smell like she drank anything, and we weren't away from each other very long. Was it drugs? Something in the water that makes people weirdly fuck crazy? I mean, her boobs are soft and squishy, but fuck, not a good idea. Not a good idea to even start.

Either way this is a really uncomfortable position. My back's going to give out like an old man at this rate. Maybe she'll let go after having a dream or something. Until then I can just try to get on the bed. Time to start thinking. I can't use my arms. That means it's one leg at a time on the bed. With no spotting. Yeah. This is going to be one hell of a night. Who knows, it might make a good story someday.

Then again, presently I don't have any plans to leave my current employer making that a moot point. People also don't want entire city-states to fall. It's where all of the rich patrons are. The one's that are crazy to live outside the safety of the walls are absolutely broke, trying hard to not rock the boat, or have their own muscle. That or they're as crazy, conniving and convincing as Cinder.

Think about Cinder doesn't help me keep my back from breaking with this weird angle though. I started by putting my left leg fully on the bed and the slowly sliding my right on. I was still stuck between Emerald's boobs though. I was not the one who initiated contact. I am allowed to be here, granted on probation. With that in mind I slipped my arms under her and angled my hips away.

Wow. Boobs are really comfortable. I always thought that people exaggerated when they said that boobs make great pillows. She hasn't sweated much so no BO smell. Definite upgrade.

* * *

I woke up with Mercury sandwiched between my breasts. Shit. That actually happened. I had feeling it might based on my preferred sleeping position but still. Well. It's not like I can get up without waking him up too. At least he didn't drool on me. That would have been disgusting. It's not the worst position to sleep in though. I don't think that I've ever seen Mercury sleep before.

He looks kind of like a little kid with such a peaceful expression. Usually he's always thrashing around and muttering things. I guess this could be a last resort for some sleep that actually leaves me feeling refreshed. After all, I get the pillow and no grumpy face kicking me at night. I think I deserve it after having to interact with 'the public' for three days.

I just need to do a little bit of shopping and loading up, then I am ready to fulfill the contract and decide what to do next. Staying like this is so easy. I could rob this town blind in only a month if I did just a little more planning. Robbing this place won't help me find Cinder. It also wouldn't be very wise since it has some kind of connection to Fence the only reasonable place I know that would take stolen goods.

Either way that's bust. Maybe she's going towards the mountains? We did all meet in Mistral. Maybe I could find a contact there. The problem with that plan is giving information away and in Mistral Merc and I have pasts that do not need revisiting. Not to mention the amount of time it would take to get there. That and the guilty trip of leaving forty people to die, most of them disabled.

This isn't thinking things through, or at least, it isn't the right place to be thinking things through. If Mercury wakes up before I leave then he's going to make some sarcastic comment that I won't be able to properly deal with. I unlocked my hands from behind his head and started to work on getting his stiff fingers to move. A little bit of pressure here, a feather light touch there, and I'm not locked in anymore.

I sat up for the first time. Oh, my boobs. Why did I think that letting Mercury sleep on my breasts was a good idea? I didn't know that my breasts could even get sore. Bruised easily enough but sore?! Why didn't my aura kick in so that I didn't end up hurting this much? I decided that maybe putting warm water on them might make them hurt less, and that if my aura hadn't kicked in by now it couldn't be that serious.

I climbed over Mercury and claimed dibs on the bathroom. I locked the door and looked in the mirror. Bruises. Head shaped bruises on my breasts. I activated my aura. I know it's not something I'm supposed to do outside a fight, but all of my tops expose my chest. I need to talk to people to close this job. They can't be wondering what the happened last night between me and Mercury vs how much to bargain for food.

I gave them an experimental bounce. No stiffness and no questionable markings. The two of us might actually get out of this town by the end of the day. This inn is nice but expensive as all get out, and we have to pay at the end of our stay.

* * *

The bed is not as comfortable as boobs. I've reached that decision after being unceremoniously dumped onto it by Emerald. I swear I can feel the box springs through this mattress. She just swung her legs over me and settled her full weight on my legs before hopping off. Rude. If they weren't made of metal I could think of a few more objections, but fortunately, or unfortunately in this case, the weight distribution doesn't amount to anything. Either way argument lost.

I decided that sulking around won't earn me brownie points. That and if I get up while she's gone and look busy once she gets back there most likely won't be any discussion on what the hell just happened last night. I am all for that plan. Too bad it means moving.

I got up, took my meds, straightened my clothes, and had just started to comb my hair when Emerald walked out. She seemed grumpy. I don't have boobs, but I'm pretty sure that someone laying on you for hours on end doesn't mean that you're going to be a happy camper. Really though, whose dumb idea was it to try and market that stuff for kids? Refugee donations, Huntsmen and Huntresses, even the occasional trapper I could understand. Who in there right mind would let their kids leave the walls to sleep in the woods? It's such a bad idea that it's almost funny.

Either way the look of the wallet that Emerald just picked up informs me that I will be paying for breakfast this morning. I hope she doesn't try to overeat. Last I remember this is our final day here, and Grimm aren't going to care whether your pants are up or down. Either way it means that we'll be heading back to Fence well within the two week limit that we were given by Dr. Orchid. Good thing too, all of these wood buildings creak. It gets really annoying.

The two of us headed downstairs with Emerald's hair pulled back just in time to receive a withering look from Bitchy Geld. She took our orders and came back with our food and a previously unknown stipulation.

"I want the rest of the payment for the room now, since I know that you have it, and I want it vacated by one o-clock. I usually charge it all up-front, but the mayor asked me to make an exception for the two of you as you're merchants. Since this is the last day you're staying, and even then only to load up most of your new wares your debt needs collectin'," she shot out without giving either of us time to talk.

Damn. I know she's an uptight prude, but there can't that much bitch in such a small package. Emerald's a little taller. Maybe she has a better disbursement pattern for the bitch hormone. I know we can do it, but she wasn't that rude when we got the room to begin with. You'd think that an innkeeper would take all of the people she could get with Vale's tower going down and less people deciding that they want to risk it even between towns.

Emerald and I went out and picked up the cargo after paying our tab. Had to keep our noses clean after all. Emerald at least made sure to get the right amount of change and not a single lien less. It would have looked bad if two enterprising former Beacon students didn't make sure that they weren't being slighted after all.

There wasn't any trouble with the farmers. Polite small talk with words that weren't too big for them greased the hinges. The Bullhead didn't crush any of the crops, and they helped to load some of the bigger crates. Everything carefully noted in Emerald's new little blue book. We stumbled onto something when we got back to the Golden Goose.

"What do you mean they're leaving? We made sure to send Atlas some of Timber's best food and wine and they aren't going to reinforce troops along the rail road anymore? That's insane. Inane. Idiotic. I'm not sure how many synonyms I can think of that show what a bad idea that is," Betty Geld punctuated her thoughts with ferocious scrubbing of her pan.

"You're the mayor, what are you going to do about this?" a guy vaguely remember from the last few days.

"They promised us troops in exchange for a good location for the rail stop and feeding their troops. Now they're going to abandon us?" Mrs. Schwartz asked with indignation.

"Please, calm down. We're trying to work things out as we speak. With all of the the things that have happened in Vale these past weeks it seems like having a foreign military in the country is only making things work. Obviously talking is going to take more time than it usually would, but I promise that Timber will not be unguarded." Mayor Parker was trying to placate the growing crowd. A guy spotted the jerk guard, Malcom, trying to sneak out.

"Hey, you! You're Atlas military, what the hell's going on?" the guy called out. Attention turned to him.

"I don't know. A train just came from Atlas calling for all units to return to base. I'm going to deliver the Mayor's letter when I get there. It's a bad idea to leave the railroad unguarded," he said more to himself than anyone else.

"We're just a railroad stop to you Atlas folk?"

"No! I'm trying to think of what I'll tell the commander to make sure that more troops are sent. Timber isn't really a part of Atlas territory so..."

"Yet you feel like there's plenty of resources to be gained here, so while the going's good it's all fine and well to be friends. The moment Vale starts to be a little shaky, boy don't you step out quick. Talk about fair whether friends."

"Let's face it, if Spire was accessible to rails, the Schnee company would have made sure the rails laid in a completely different direction."

"I."

A howl of Beowulf joined by several others cut through the din. Hate and negitivity were a feast for them after all. A war cry sounded from above with a rush of displaced air. Grimm.

* * *

The mice had a large problem to face,

A choice between the bird of prey and a hard place.


	16. Chapter 15

**Yay! Looks like that potential hiatus, while completely understandable, was all just rumors. More RWBY!**

 **I'd like to thank the people who have followed Her Guard Dog first today, so thank you 7Artemis7, 7266aa, Allycat826, Brooke Vengeance, ChimaTigon, Cpt. Lynx, CrowingCrow, Darkerpaths, GuiltyLancaster, KyranKandosa, MarkAntimony, Metal Vile, Pearl Darkness, Raven Bishop, Stormy Trix, The Dude Strikes Back, anarchopunk, cinderhasfallen, claraowl, fanaticalParadox, idleIdiot, iliketacoslikealot, and sterling visions. Thank you for putting it on your favorite's list 7266aa, Brooke Vengeance, ChimaTigon, CrowingCrow, GuiltyLancaster, Pearl Darkness, Shade 1727, Stormy Trix, XxClearNoizxX cinderhasfallen, claraowl, fanaticalParadox, and idleIdiot. And for one of the most meaningful gestures, thank you fanaticalParadox, DarkerPaths, claraowl, cinderhasfallen, Gravenimage, Guest: Andrew, Guest:Guest, for reviewing. I also am thanking every person who has read this that does not name themselves.**

 **Chapter 15: Thorns Removed**

Emerald and I got outside. The last place you want to fight a Grimm is in a confined space. The last place anything would want to fight me is in a confined space. The mayor was trying to get non-combatants inside while Emerald and I got our own plan going. There was a pack of Beowolves with more incoming, at least two or three Giant Nevermores, a flock of tiny Nevermores, some Boarbatusks, and I think a few Ursa still in the treeline.

Emerald zoomed ahead to try and slow down the advance. I started by launching airflares into the nearby area. As soon as it looked like the inside of a tornado I directed them toward the Beowulf pack. It's fun to watch them explode. Emerald shot the scythe end of her chain into the air. It hooked on to one of the larger Nevermores. She shot the other one at me.

I grabbed it. She made me into a human projectile and shot me at the flock of Nevermore that was attacking fleeing Atlas military. I used my boots to bounce off of one right after another. I got pecked a lot. Stupid bird-brained piles of nothingness. Either way I ran out of Nevermore to springboard off of. Emerald noticed fast enough to get a chain out to me. What the hell is she doing on the ground? Oh. Ok. Time to just let gravity do it's thing.

Just falling and being flung are way different things. That was more like being on a swing in the middle of a swarm of Grimm instead of jumping like gravity doesn't exist. I guess I can get what she likes about it. You know, because becoming a human swingset and dealing with a horde of Grimm is just an everyday experience. On the bright side though, the smaller ones can actually die by being shot.

Either way the giant Nevermore were being pains in the ass. Atlas troops were trying to shoot it up. Idiots. The bigger the Grimm gets for that types size the less likely that cartridges will work. Emerald was still on the first one she had singled out. She was trying to cut its wings off. A bird that has no wings. That's a great image.

I decided to fuck them and look at the rest of the few people who had weapons were doing. Ok, scratch that, pretty much a third of the people that most likely lived in Timber are out with knives, pitchforks, and axes trying to take down Beowolves one at a time by surrounding them. The mayor's got her own thing going on, same with the old guy Emerald and I saw in the inn.

What the hell? Where did the bitchy innkeeper get that battle axe or the muscles to use it? I understand the Mayor and her glaive, and even the old guy having his huge flail makes sense. But how the fuck did that axe get into her hands? Did it come from the kitchen, a backdoor shed, hammerspace?

I swear I've got to stop thinking sometime soon. Nothing makes sense.

* * *

I let myself burn breakfast energy first. It's going to be a pain fighting on a - stomach. I can do it though. First everyone's going to hide inside anywhere with a wall or a basement. My bet is that if this happens frequently they would have made it mandatory to dig one beforehand. I sliced a Beowulf with an uppercut. Then I wrapped my chain around another one without piercing it. I let it fling me off. It would have been hell trying to latch onto a Nevermore without help.

It was just its talons though. I chanced a look down. The fields were filled with Mercury's projectiles and dead Grimm. I shot a line down to him. I waited until I could feel his weight on the chain. Then I swung him towards the flock of Nevermore to my left. There's at least a hundred in there. Must have wanted easy pickings. They usually come with lynch mobs. I hope the mayor can keep the villagers down and in the ground where they belong.

My chain jerked. The Nevermore I had hitched a ride on just decided it was going to dive. Fuck fucking fatal feathers. I flew off course as feathers rained down on me. One of them took a good chunk out of my aura. Damn that shit hurts. The fall itself didn't do much other than make my legs hurt from being pushed so far. I think I need to get in better shape.

Mercury's still in the middle of a fight with the flock. Mayor's got a glaive and is targeting Boarbatusks. A familiar looking old man is going towards the treeline with what I'm guessing is some kind of ball and chain to take out the Uras. There's not nearly enough air support. Time to get back up there. I evaluated my options. I could use the kick for the gunshots to get onto the nearby rooftops. Doesn't look like I'd be able to get to the Nevermore fast enough though, and I can

I secured eye contact with Mercury and jerked my head toward one of the Nevermore. The Huntsmen was already pinning the other one to the ground, but our Bullhead was in danger from some fatal feathers. I shot him a line. Mercury pulled my chain and bounced backwards with a shot from his boots. I landed on the first Nevermore's tail feathers. I tried slicing off its wings.

Wouldn't you know it actually works? You'd think they'd develop so that their joints keep it from having a weak point, but nope. I've got to keep that in mind next time I do this. I shot out a line as soon as the next Nevermore came into view. Unfortunately for me as I was about to swing up and over the old Huntsmen's flail landed on the things back. I'm guessing he has some kind of gravity altering semblance. One moment it was fine and dandy, the next my chain's snapped and I feel like I woke up with the Bullhead on my chest.

The fight ended quickly after that. Bridget chopped off the Nevermore's head while it was still grounded. My chain was revealed after the body evaporated. Landing on my shoulder took the last of my aura too. It'll be a while before it's healed and my aura can take the sting off of it. Still feels like a bitch. Eventually the Grimm were all gone.

No more masses of black. I decided to report to the city center for wound cleaning that's apparently the Golden Goose Inn. Bridget is checking weapons back in to a shed behind the place. I have a feeling she took on the job as innkeeper for a day job. The mayor's doing detail with the old Huntsmen that must live around here for the Atlas military. Running away from the fight definitely wasn't a good idea when their loyalty was already questioned.

Merc slid up next me. One moment I'm waiting in a general line to see the mayor and the next I have a shadow. Doesn't he get that this annoys me to no end? Either way we approach them while the Ms. Rosa's chewing a different Atlas guard's ass out. I think she's going to shove the pointy end of her glaive up his ass.

"I should have put my foot down and insisted on getting proper Huntsmen to control the area instead of relying on you Atlas military. Even a few sheriffs would have been better than some untried newbies from another government," Ms. Rosa muttered.

"What do you mean? Most of us have been stationed here for almost two years. Those two are the newbies! They've weapons and probably started to make the Grimm come too!" he whined.

Ok. It's time he had his ass handed to him on a silver platter. Actually, just let it be tin. His ass doesn't deserve to sit on anything that valuable.

* * *

"Wait. You thought we went through nearly the Forest of Forever Fall without any kind of training? I've been wearing my weapons out this entire time. Did you think they were for show or something? I thought everyone knew Mercury and I attended Beacon. Why wouldn't we do our part in a Grimm attack?" Emerald asked.

I gave her a quick glance. Yup. The routine where you protest against any change by saying that nothing changed. Soon she'll let someone else talk so that the feeling can shift from hatred of strangers to Atlas officers, because we're from Beacon now. Beacon's always going to represent safety and strength to any citizen of Vale, and almost anyone else. Atlas soldiers on the other hand just aren't that noble. Then once they're gone she'll have a little demand for something to make sure they keep their debts to 'Hunters'. All while her wounded shoulder gives them a physical reminder that she's done her part.

Sure enough it played out just like she wanted it to. The soldiers were effectively thrown out, we became heroes, and Emerald did another good con. The people of Timber needed money to make their town more secure. We couldn't bankrupt the town as it'd be against the interests of entrepreneurs and Fence's needs. So we 'settled' for the right to the barracks to sleep or store more of the food for shifts and a nearby warehouse to store the Bullhead. No more bitchy innkeeper, privacy, some basic protection for the Bullhead, and no questions asked.

I think I'm starting to like this place. We're leaving tomorrow though. Now that it's apparent we're 'Hunters' we aren't allowed to let people starve to death if we have a Bullhead full of food. The rest of the kicking out of the soldiers will have to be done by the villagers. It's clear that mentally they were relying too much on Atlas's military connections to the Schnee Trading Company and their subsequent desire to have a railroad to Vale keeping the military here.

Still, the air's a lot better now. It's not a question of pollution, but more of just the general atmosphere. This should make the ride even smoother on either side for me and Emerald. I wouldn't say that they're geniuses for living out here and relying on outside defenses, but I guess in the end I just like people who don't take a beating lying down.

* * *

The mice soon found their thorns removed,

though the price of this freedom was rather skewed.

* * *

 **If you thought that I was mature. I'm sorry. I had to make a pulling your chain joke in there. Also, can you believe this site tries to autocorrect the word "axe" to ax or axes?**


	17. Chapter 16

**Yay! Looks like that potential hiatus, while completely understandable, was all just rumors. More RWBY! Also, happy 2017 you guys. I always end up feeling old at New Years. It's old news by the time my birthday rolls around but it hits like a bathtub dropped from the ceiling at this time. It's also hard to remember to not put 2016 on reports.**

 **I'd like to thank the people who have followed Her Guard Dog first today, so thank you 7Artemis7, 7266aa, Allycat826, Brooke Vengeance, ChimaTigon, Cpt. Lynx, CrowingCrow, Darkerpaths, GuiltyLancaster, KyranKandosa, MarkAntimony, Metal Vile, Pearl Darkness, Raven Bishop, Stormy Trix, The Dude Strikes Back, anarchopunk, cinderhasfallen, claraowl, fanaticalParadox, idleIdiot, iliketacoslikealot, and sterling visions. Thank you for putting it on your favorite's list 7266aa, Brooke Vengeance, ChimaTigon, CrowingCrow, GuiltyLancaster, Pearl Darkness, Shade 1727, Stormy Trix, XxClearNoizxX cinderhasfallen, claraowl, fanaticalParadox, and idleIdiot. And for one of the most meaningful gestures, thank you fanaticalParadox, DarkerPaths, claraowl, cinderhasfallen, Gravenimage, Guest: Andrew, Guest:Guest, for reviewing. I also am thanking every person who has read this that does not name themselves.**

 **Chapter 16: Raced and Chased**

I woke up to a metal roof. At first it didn't register. Then it hit me. I'd finally managed to sleep on my back again. Emerald was snuggled up next to me. Pretty much the opposite of what must have happened that first night when it became apparent Cinder wasn't coming. Maybe it happened because I finally got to let loose and actually fight for a little.

I straightened into a sitting position. Basic cotton sheets, metal frame, a pillow, we took over the officer's room didn't we? The windows are medium sized and high up, facing the door so that they don't wake anyone up and blind the person who dares come to do that job. I moved my arm out from underneath Emerald. She had made it go numb with her body weight.

I stretched it out and started rubbing blood flow back into it. Emerald didn't even stir. Must still be recuperating from getting her aura eliminated yesterday. It was a good fight. Nice and challenging with the terrain and the Grimm had a good advantage for once. Once my arm had feeling besides pins getting stuck into I turned around, grabbed the metal headboard and lifted myself up and over Emerald.

I landed about six inches away from the bed with a soft thump. Not my best, I've got to get back in shape. This whole merchant/transporter gig has my routine completely off. I walked over to the mini-fridge to try and find anything to eat first. Emerald's still in charge and that means food is a priority. I think she's just enjoying the chance to spoil herself with three meals. Usually it's just two when we're out of the cities.

Ugh. The one thing Emerald and me don't even consider consuming. What a waste. Sort of like the time and lien we had to waste yesterday afternoon at the weapon's forge to get her chains fixed. This town's still penny pinching even after we saved their asses. It's amazing Emerald managed to get us a deal at all. Even so, it doesn't take an accountant to see that it bit into our budget badly.

* * *

I woke up and saw Mercury dressing while I was rubbing the sleep from my eyes. My torso was still covered by the sheets when I realized that I could feel my top had shifted while I slept. I discretely moved it back so that I wasn't exposed anymore. Mercury was raiding the mini-fridge. I hope he doesn't think that anything's going to be in there besides whiskey. Atlissians and their whiskey.

I could see Mercury become both disappointed and disgusted. I'm pretty sure the last occupant left a few of the cheaper bottles here. Nothing really gets to Mercury except alcohol. I think that him never being both a drunk asshole is one of his good qualities. Then again after eating fruit that's rotted I can't imagine what people really think of juice that's gone through that same thing.

I swung my legs over the side of the bed and waited for Mercury to turn around so we could talk. It was sort of a mirror of how last night went when I told him my chain had broken. That didn't go as well as I'd've liked. He still came around though, it didn't take long. He got comfy against the mini-fridge before popping the question.

"We are leaving today, right?" he asked.

"Yes. Well before noon. You're driving for the beginning. You're going to take first watch, and I'll cook breakfast and lunch today. You take dinner and breakfast tomorrow. We should be back in Fence by lunch," I said, managing something that I hoped sounded something like authority.

"It may take a while to get any meals while they sort the food out though. Got a plan for that?" Clearly I didn't do a good enough impersonation.

"We'll take some bread and then just adjust the ledgers later. The Cloth Market runs on people willing to risk their lives to smuggle anything and everything to it. Right now we're the only smugglers. Bread won't be begrudged," I said while slipping on my shoes.

It's the only thing I don't sleep in anymore. Heels and relaxation do not go together. Then again they did add a good inch or two onto my range in a fight. Not to mention that they helped dig into bark and balance.

"So, the fight yesterday give you any ideas? Like maybe the whole merchant thing is a stretch at best and we really should just be mercenaries?" He asked in that voice I hate beyond all belief. It's so slimy.

"Please," I snorted, "Mercenaries wouldn't get this kind of treatment. Take over of the old fighting area? We'd need to stop three Grimm attacks simultaniously to get this without having to change it. You just like it when there's a challenge to a job."

* * *

I smiled. Yes. It's the truth. There's no fun if things just roll over and die. I like to see my targets fight back. Is it such a crime to want to have my skills be tested? I don't think that it's possible to step outside of your role in life too much. Diversity is overrated. You'd end up being half gardener half mayor and not very good at either. I guess that's why the old guy takes care of the roses and not Mayor Rosa.

Either way, special treatment or not, we left pretty quickly for being the town heroes and all. Emerald pointed out that we got the sheets, so we might as well keep the whiskey and sell it for the Cloth Market instead of getting involved with things here. It'll probably go to Dr. Orchid to clean out wounds. I think that the old man with the flail is more comfortable taking over the praise. He at least looked comfortable not having to pay for his meal at the Golden Goose.

The Bullhead was in the warehouse next to us. It was barely dawn when we opened the garage doors. Everything had been packed yesterday and the Bullhead double checked for damages. I took over the cockpit while Emerald made breakfast. Lift off was more difficult. It felt like a different beast in with the extra weight. It also was unbalanced. Got to fix that soon. Emerald made some pancakes during flight and helped to "correct" the course.

I think she just likes giving sideboob. She went to the backroom and slept for a while. I think I got better at handling and anticipating when turbulence would hit as the hours passed. She got up and made grilled meat and cheese on the hot plate. Since there wasn't any running water to clean it with between the two it tasted a little pancakey. Then came the switch. About an hour before we decided to land I made pasta. I thought that you couldn't exactly go wrong with putting a grain based substance in hot water after all. It turned out a little flabby and had too much salt. Guess there is a way to make pasta taste bad.

We landed when it was just about dusk. Emerald decided that it wasn't quiet cold enough or worth the trouble of possible breaking an ankle to go and look for fire wood. I took first watch this time. I couldn't wait for Emerald to grow still. I could almost feel the change in the air that invites Grimm just a little ways away from here. It's impossible to become numb to the faint traces of death, misery, and despair that cling to places.

I double checked that I had some cartridges in and started to go towards the general area. There's only two kinds of people who can tell where places that Grimm will gather based on their gut. There's the type of person who's extremely spiritually sensitive, most likely has their aura unlocked since they were a kid, and can't go anywhere near the site. Then there's people like me. I recognize the type of place that clings with that extra something I leave behind after a job.

I found the place. It's only ten minutes from our site which is definitely not good. It's a dries up riverbed with shale along the sides. The grass along the edges is yellow and there aren't any trees for a few meters around it. The golden glint of a Death Stalker's stinger comes out from behind a few rocky outcroppings. I can guess that it's probably more than average sized and armored based on the stinger.

If I had to fight it I'd be in over my head. My legs are designed with fragile humans in mind, no blades and very noisy. Even if I won against it this place reeks of bad mojo, Grimm could swarm. I'd better just get Emerald to make an emergency lift off and try and push our luck to Fence. I backed away as slowly and carefully as I could.

I felt the twig after it snapped. Damn legs. Can't feel anything. No pressure or stability check. The Death Stalker started moving towards me. The moon's less than half full. Shit. Shit. Shit. I started running as fast as I could towards the Bullhead. I even used my legs to propel me yard after yard faster and faster. The Death Stalker was gaining. Shit.

I hope Emerald wakes up.

* * *

The mice from fields of grain raced,

By the cat that soon chased.


	18. Chapter 17

**Warning. There is a sex scene in this chapter. It will have foreplay between two woman, and then sex between a man and a woman. If this makes you uncomfortable, please leave now as it will come up again in later chapters. If you wish to persevere due to the dynamic between Emerald and Mercury being explored with the world then simply go down to the paragraph two before the first line indentation signifying a shift in character perspective. Sex dreams are simply the brain's way of processing things when we're horny. Normal sex requires more consent being actively asked for and received. Lube and condoms are non-negotiable in casual sex situations and pretty much any time unless all parties agree to forgo it beforehand. **

**Also, dear guest that wrote the note on chapter 13. I only mean that I lack the equipment that Mercury was born with. I confess that reading metaphors and seeing diagrams aren't the ideal way of figuring out length, directional orientation, ect. I assure you that I have done both types of recommended research and was only worried for my computer's well being. **

**First, let me thank you for putting it on your favorite's list 1AmTheCatalyst, 7266aa, Brooke Vengeance, ChimaTigon, CrowingCrow, GuiltyLancaster, Hunty Play, Morgan15009, Pearl Darkness, Shade 1727, Stormy Trix, XxClearNoizxX cinderhasfallen, claraowl, fanaticalParadox, and idleIdiot. I'd like to thank the people who have followed Her Guard Dog now, so thank you ****1AmTheCatalyst** **7Artemis7 , 7266aa, Allycat826, Brooke Vengeance, ChimaTigon, Cpt. Lynx, CrowingCrow, Darkerpaths, GuiltyLancaster, ****Hunty Play ,** **KyranKandosa , MarkAntimony, Metal Vile, Pearl Darkness, Raven Bishop, Stormy Trix, The Dude Strikes Back, anarchopunk, cinderhasfallen, claraowl, fanaticalParadox, idleIdiot, iliketacoslikealot, and sterling visions. And for one of the most meaningful gestures, thank you fanaticalParadox, DarkerPaths, claraowl, cinderhasfallen, Gravenimage, Guest: Andrew, Guest:Guest, for reviewing. Thank you all.**

 **Chapter 17: The Water's Dark Edge**

I recognize this place. A sumptuous bed with silken sheets. Piles of pillows. A silver tray with fruit, chocolate and yogurt on the side table. Curtains blocking out the sun. The sound of water in the adjacent bathroom. A pair of lingerie on the richly upholstered chair. Me, on the bed, not wearing anything.

The Red Room. It's my favorite place to dream of what my first time with Cinder might be like. I've had this dream so many times I know every detail of it. What should I do this time? Oh, the water's turning off. No time to join her in the shower then. I turned so that my back would be facing her when she came out. The smile on my face could barely be contained.

"Are you ready?" Cinder asked in her most seductive voice. I glanced at her in the mirror. Just a towel! I watched her come closer and closer. She climbed onto the bed. I could feel the weight of the bed shift. I closed my eyes. A teasing finger brushed my hair off my neck. It's so cold. Must be the shower.

An arm snakes it's way to my side of the bed. The weight shifts. I look up. It's Mercury now. He can't stop staring at me. It's like I'm the only thing that exists. We met halfway with our lips. I grab onto his shoulders for support _. It's_ skin against skin. He's pressing me against the pillows(he presses me against the pillow). My hands just can't stop wandering. Shoulders, back, arms, his muscle, skin and scars.

I brushed over one of his ticklish spots. He grabs my hands even though it's hard to balance. His fingers trace paths over mine. The kiss deepened. We both break away panting. He lets go of my hands. Now he's on my breasts, stroking, licking, staring me right in the eye. I put an arm over my mouth while rubbing my legs together.

He notices that at last and sneaks a hand downwards. It's beyond obvious what I want. Finally the purpose of the night, the main event, is about to take place. He positions himself over my entrance. He sinks into me and freezes. I'm glad. I don't think I could have let him move, but it feels so good. It's already started smelling like sex. Soon we're pushing against each other, sticky, wild, and pulsing. I'm grabbing onto these plain white sheets that have replaced the fancy ones for dear life.

"Emerald." He says my name so softly it's barely there.

"Emerald." He's louder this time.

"Emerald." It's rough enough to be a grunt.

"Emerald!"

Mercury wakes me up, looking frantic. Fuck. Please tell me I didn't moan his name. Please in the name of all that is holy let me not have moaned his name. I'll never steal his scroll and delete any of his save data ever again if you make it so that I didn't moan his name. What he's saying slowly begins to dawn on me. My eyes stop dilating with leftover lust from the dream and shrink into pinpricks of anger and fear.

Fucking Grimm!

* * *

I'm barely ahead of the Death Stalker. It'll be here in a few minutes. I slammed the Bullhead door behind me. I heard light snoring coming from the the hell is she still asleep?! I made a shit ton of noise so she'd wake up. I start shaking her.

She snaps into bleary consciousness. As I talk her eyes become more aware of what actually's going on and less dilated with sleep.

"Emerald! There's Grimm. A Death Stalker. With Beowolves. We've got to leave."

She gets up and strolls towards the cockpit, turning it on. She's the only one in any shape to fly this thing right now. Take off's not too bad. A little shaky with the failure to get all the way past the treeline, but otherwise alright. It's ahead of the Death Stalker, and without any Beringel around we have a chance at getting away. Still not going to get any sleep tonight. Too jumpy and too desperate.

I still haven't quite gotten my breath back when the screeching starts. A murder of Nevermore, in a frenzy. Probably with a leader about the size of a human being. Emerald tells me to take over the Bullhead. I'm too tired to do anything but follow orders. I have no idea what she's going to do. I'm just trying to find the pole star. Find the pole star and put it on my right. That's the direction that I need to go in.

As much as I hate deep water and what it can do to me, right now all I want is to see the black mass of the ocean. Gun shots ring above as I find it just above my window and a little on the left. The quick turn caused Emerald to be shoved into Bullhead's frame. Since she was still making it unbalanced I figured that she hadn't fallen off yet. The screeching still hadn't stopped.

It got quieter. The kind of quiet that you don't want to see what's going on behind you. I saw the land drop away and give into the ocean. Now I just need to search the coastline for the cave that houses Fence. I know it juts out from the land slightly, but for the most part is flat enough to have apartments on the outskirts. I heard the final screech of the Nevermore, the quick slamming of the body into the Bullhead, and the loss of the unbalancing force on the wing.

Emerald!

* * *

When Mercury's finally recovered enough I leave to take care of the swarm. Stupid, screeching Nevermore that made it so a girl couldn't enjoy her much needed personal time. I didn't even get to finish the most important part! Now I'm horny, angry and not really thinking straight.

I opened the Bullhead door just enough for my hand to slip through. The wind nearly knocks over some of our cargo. Damn it, there's still cargo to think about. I open it up just enough to quickly jump out onto the wings while hooking my left scythe into the handle to close it shut behind me.

I take a look around. The swarm's to my left. The smell of the ocean is starting to come into my senses instead of leaf litter and fertile soil. The trees are mostly just a dark mass that I know will give me vertigo if I look down. The Grimm are almost blocking out the moon. The leader's not quite the size of a Giant Nevermore, but it pecks at the others to keep them in line, and it's easily my size.

I start by firing what rounds I have at the mass. I see holes that appear then are filled as more of the murder takes to the sky. I went ahead began using my chains. I overshot the murder, letting out most of my chains. Then I ripped them back towards me using the Bullhead's hull to destroy the murder. The formation broke. Even though only a few were damaged enough to disappear, the others caught knocked into others and creating a chain reaction.

They disappeared. Cowardice and the need to survive through groups are hard things to ignore. The only one that held onto the Bullhead for it's target was the human sized one. A bump in the Bullhead reminded me of my shaky ground. The cold metal, the night air, and my outfit made me shiver, but not the Grimm. You've seen them once. You've seen all they had to offer. I knew how to beat it. I had to just hook it at the place where it's wing joined it's body, jump and let gravity do the rest.

I couldn't leave the Bullhead's side though. The drop to the ground and the disappearing treeline made any help from there impossible as well as the problem with getting back from a Grimm infested Forest of Forever Fall. I had to wait for it to dive towards me. It left the backdrop of the moon, loosing the halo I've been using to track it. I craned my head up to the sky. Deep night and the river of stars. It's not big enough to blot them out though.

It's fatal flaw was that screech. It calls other Grimm to it's side, but gives away everything. I sliced it in half mid dive. The remnants of the body slammed me off of the Bullhead. It's strange how the red shows up in the dark. No other colors exist in it. The flash of silver through black and then the flow of red.

Falling. The stars are whirling now. Looking up at the sky when the Nevermore was attacking made me notice a little too late that we had passed the cliffs. Now I'm in the air. I could have survived that fall with some bruising. My aura can't take the fall into the water and try to keep me warm enough to survive swimming back to shore. If I knew how to swim that is.

The Bullhead didn't catch me with down pillows. It was a hard rough shock. Being flung into the wings right after definitely stole away more of my aura than I had to give. The foam brushed my feet below. My eyes stung with tears. Then there was a pale blue light illuminating everything. I couldn't get enough air. I passed out on the wooden deck of Fence's landing port.

Honestly I don't care about whether or not I may have moaned Merc's name on accident. I'm whimpering Cinder's now. I know she'll never come back.

* * *

The water's dark edge drives a wedge,

Between the mice better than a hedge.

* * *

 **A group of crows is a murder. This is why I'm giving the designation to the Nevermore. Monty and Barbra damn my puns I am sure. Chain reactions indeed.**


	19. Chapter 18

**Time to talk to my readers and respond to reviews. I am highly concerned about the lack of reviews for the last chapter. It confirms my worst fears of being a bad sex writer. Taking the rest of the story line into consideration that does not bode well. After all, I am promising more sex. Wow that sounds bad. Sorry for being a debbie downer.**

 **Be on the look out for a musical reference somewhere bellow. It's the special scavenger hunt item.**

 **First, let me thank you for putting it on your favorite's list 1AmTheCatalyst, 7266aa, Brooke Vengeance, ChimaTigon, CrowingCrow, GuiltyLancaster, Hunty Play, Morgan15009, Pearl Darkness, Shade 1727, Stormy Trix, XxClearNoizxX cinderhasfallen, claraowl, fanaticalParadox, and idleIdiot. I'd like to thank the people who have followed Her Guard Dog now, so thank you ****1AmTheCatalyst** **7Artemis7 , 7266aa, Allycat826, Ash141, Brooke Vengeance, ChimaTigon, Cpt. Lynx, CrowingCrow, Darkerpaths, GuiltyLancaster, ****Hunty Play ,** **KyranKandosa , MarkAntimony, Metal Vile, Pearl Darkness, Raven Bishop, Stormy Trix, The Dude Strikes Back, anarchopunk, cinderhasfallen, claraowl, fanaticalParadox, idleIdiot, iliketacoslikealot, and sterling visions. And for one of the most meaningful gestures, thank you fanaticalParadox, DarkerPaths, claraowl, cinderhasfallen, Gravenimage, Guest: Andrew, Guest:Guest, for reviewing. Thank you all.**

 **Chapter 18: At Odds**

This day is now up there with the day that Emerald locked herself in the bathroom. Hero worship, long flight, Grimm attack, emergency lift off and dangerous maneuvering, and Emerald not being there the next morning. Waking up alone after over a week of being in constant contact with another living being was a jolt. Actually it was more of a slap in the face. Emerald and I can't sleep together because I messed up.

People in our line of, well... it's not really _our_ line of work, but work similar to mine have less aura. Taking another's life takes a toll on the soul. As a result we aren't as well protected. I heard the shots being fired from inside the Bullhead. A little after that I heard the Nevermore's cries and thud against the Bullhead. The distribution of weight going all wrong. Diving downwards as I see her fall right at the peripherals of the monitoring system. Catching her with the Bullhead wing as I make a last ditch attempt to do anything after finally seeing the right hole in the cliff side.

The moment I was in far enough I jerked on the breaks. I couldn't risk breaking the dock or Emerald. When I heard the loud thump of a body on wood, I yanked the keys out of the drive, bolted out of there. I slammed the door open and shut to reach Emerald quickly. Someone appeared at the edge of a cave and then disappeared back into the system. I heard the words echo back to me from the eerily lit cavern.

"Transporters... back... hurt...chid...hur...get back."

Emerald didn't look good. A dark, angry bruise over her stomach. No aura. Tears, whimpering. It looked like one of her ribs might be out of their socket. Damn. I'm a retarded fuck up. My fucking legs not having the ability to do treasurer sensing like a normal foot does and my having a fucking piece of metal makes me a useless piece of trash. This is my fault. Cinder'll kill me, and I'll be dead and rotting, and Emerald will still be in a massive amount of pain because I'm a useless good-for-nothing retarded fuck-up. I guess my old man was right, no good deed goes unpunished.

I took off my emblem cloth to make a pillow for Emerald's head to rest on. I didn't have smelling salts to pop her ribs back in place. There's no Ice Dust crystals on board to reduce the swelling of her bruises. Her shoes were damp. I couldn't fix anything. I'm a useless fuck up that doesn't have anything to offer.

"Ci-ci-cinder," she whimpered.

It froze me. I'm not sure why. It's only further proof that I'm not up to the only job I'm ever going to get. Her crying out for Cinder. I've got to stop thinking for a moment.

"Shhh. Shhh. Just breath," I whispered for some reason. Probably to avoid screaming like a little kid.

I was replaced quickly with Dr. Orchid. She brought a stretcher and got Sienna to deal with me. Our supplies were desperately needed here after all. I locked the inner-Bullhead doors before letting the buyers grab and go. I didn't bargain much. I couldn't think too well. I just gave her a copy of the supplies that Emerald had made. Emerald. Why the hell didn't I just get out myself?! Emerald was half-asleep, and I don't have anywhere near the level it takes to get a licenses. It's my fault. I'm going to get killed for this. It's the exact opposite of keeping her out of harm.

After following for a while I was blocked at the entrance to Dr. Orchid's 'hospital'. Route to Bullhead. Close door on empty room. Route to Glas House. Route to upstairs and an empty bed. End of route.

* * *

I woke up with my stomach feeling like I just reported back to the thief lord after not getting enough loot. Bruised but not broken. I tried moving. The moan of pain and temporary nurse that Dr. Orchid assigned to me rushing over made me understand that I was not Ok. I'm sore enough to be considered broken for a little bit and be fussed over. Not forever, just until it stops hurting to move. I tried looking around for Mercury.

He wasn't there.

I needed to talk to him about the whole transporter thing. That maybe I wanted it to be more of a permanent thing instead of information gathering cover. I think this is the first time I've been in mortal peril without Cinder there. If she was I'd never be allowed to continue. Jail may not be nice, and thief lords are far less cordial, but living on the street this never happens. And the money doesn't hurt either. This is money with freedom, that's the dream, right?

Footsteps, the clicking of heels and thud of Mercury's boots, I looked to the doorway. The shadows were a little blurry and my head was still throbbing. The colors swirled a little. I made out a Mercury shape. The pain was making me see things. It was like I tried to use my semblance against myself.

"Mercury." I started sitting up.

"I've been asking around. If we leave tomorrow we can get to the farthest settlement that Cinder might have reached. Spire. If no one's seen her there yet then our presence will be noted to her as she passes through," Mercury said. His face didn't have it's usual calm asshole look on it. His eyes were hollow.

This isn't how I wanted things to go. In fact this is the exact opposite of the scraps of a plan I had thought of. What was Mercury even thinking? We hadn't even completed this delivery yet. Our story could be blown apart if we left tomorrow. That and I'm in no shape to move back into Grimm territory. Dr. Orchid stormed in from just outside.

"What, exactly, are you discussing with my patient? I gave you strict instructions. Emerald does not need long and difficult chats. She needs rest. She cannot be moved. Being here and being my patient means that she is under my protection and my authority is to be under no circumstance undermined or questioned." Her gaze was sharp on Mercury. No. No. No.

I tried speaking. My throat was tight and sore, breathing labored. I'm glad they didn't give me meds when I was unconscious though, that didn't bring back good memories.

"Auhh."

My reaction only seemed to prove Dr. Orchid right. She gave Mercury an I told you so look. I tried to make myself known through other means.

"Auggh." Mercury looked back at me again. I shook my head slightly from side to side. The pillow became really soft all of the sudden and everything faded again. Back to dreams of Cinder walking away. Never looking back.

* * *

I went to visit Emerald after being unable to eat breakfast. She sounded terrible. Dr. Orchid gave her a new shirt saying that her old top was too tight on her. I know that she still has that bruise though. That huge ugly bruise underneath her shirt. Aura can't heal wounds after the battle, not like there's enough between the two of us in the first place to heal a paper cut. That shit doesn't go away in a night. I left before the bitch doctor could dispense with me.

Kaitlynn pretended to not notice anything was amiss when I got there and went upstairs. I went back to the room. I dropped to the floor and started push ups.

1\. 2. 3. 4. 5.. 10... What is your job? ...18... My job is to protect Emerald. ...27... You've failed. ..36.. 37. 38. 39. 40... What are the rules? ...45... Rule Number One, safeguard Cinder's interests. ...52... The Next? ...68... Emerald is in charge when Cinder is away. ...76... The last? ...83... If I harm or allow Cinder's student, Emerald, to be harmed in any way it is my head. ...99... Which rule is most important? ...105... Right now it's rule number two. ...116... Why? ...123... Because Cinder isn't here to outline her interests or enforce rule number three. ...137... What should you be doing then? ...140... Waiting for Emerald to gain control again and following rule two then one. ...144... How can you follow rule number one without Cinder? ...148... Emerald's in charge, so it's her interests I'm safe guarding. ...149. 150... Good answer.

I turned over onto the floor. I began to make a list of questions that's answers would outline what I had to do for today. What's Emerald's first priority that's in my hands? How can I best accomplish it? The next? After that? What can be put off until tomorrow?

First make sure we get paid for the cargo and that nothing was taken that we didn't want to sell. I have to be clean and in clothes that aren't streaked with sweat to bargain with Sienna. Looking exhausted is no way to challenge a rat for food. The strong survive, and the weak die.

I got back even more tired than before. I had to shower quickly and change to catch up with Sienna. I double checked with Emerald's ledger to make sure I sold the goods at the right price. After that compensation fee being used for paying Emerald's medical was an easy enough thing to work out. Never mind that Emerald could have done better and probably gotten us some cash as well. I checked up on her after putting the money away and grabbing her stuff to keep in The Glas House. Acting in the moment I dumped Emerald's bag on the bed. I tossed the hard stuff on to the floor, but stopped for a moment when I got to Emerald's weapon. I put them on the bed side table. I curled up in the clothes like a rat in its nest and fell into that headache induced half-asleep state again.

* * *

With the mice's goals now being at odds,

How hard would it be to keep hidden that they are frauds?


End file.
